Boost for Make in India: First Scorpene-class submarine starts sea trial
India began sea trials on Sunday for the first of six Scorpene-class military submarines being built under its project P75, marking the last step before it is incorporated into the Indian Navy fleet (Photo: Ministry of Defence)
‘Kalvari’ (Tiger Shark), the first of the six French Scorpene class submarines being built at the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders for the Indian navy, went to sea for the first time on Sunday.
The submarine sailed out at about 10 am under her own propulsion for her first sea trial, off the Mumbai coast.
During the sortie, a number of number of preliminary tests on the propulsion system, auxiliary equipment and systems, navigation aids, communication equipment and steering gear were performed, the official said, adding various standard operating procedures were also validated for this new class of submarines before she returned to harbour in the evening.
Over the next few months, the submarine will undergo a barrage of sea, surface, diving, weapons, noise trials, etc testing her to the extremes of its intended operating envelop.
Later, she will be commissioned into the Indian Navy, giving a major boost to the ‘Make In India’ initiative of the government.
She is part of the ongoing project for constructing six Scorpene class submarines, in collaboration with DCNS of France, which will include transfer of technology to MDL.
In April 2015, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had directed that all-out efforts be made to complete the project on schedule after which teams from MDL, Indian Navy and DCNS worked round-the-clock on it.