Scorpene Submarine-VAGIR: On 1 February 2022, the fifth submarine of Project 75, Yard 11879, Indian Navy’s Kalvari class commenced her sea trials.

Key Facts:

• The submarine was launched in Nov 2020 from the Kanhoji Angre Wet Basin of Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL).
• The submarine would be named Vagir, after commissioning.
• The submarine will now undergo intense trials of all its systems at sea, including propulsion systems, weapons and sensors.
• The submarine is scheduled for delivery to the Indian Navy in the year 2022 after completion of these trials.

Note: Despite the Covid pandemic, MDL has 'delivered' two submarines of Project 75 in 2021 and the commencement of sea trials of the fifth submarine is a significant milestone.

Background:

• In 2021, INS Vela, the fourth submarine in the series of six submarines of Project-75, was inducted into the Navy.
• The other submarines built and already commissioned under the project are INS Kalvari, INS Khanderi and INS Karanj.
• The new Vela carries forward the legacy of her namesake, the erstwhile INS Vela which was commissioned on August 31, 1973 as the lead boat of Vela class submarines.
• Apart from being a training ground for many submariners, INS Vela had several noteworthy operational achievements during her long and illustrious career.
• She rendered yeoman service to the nation for 37 years and was the longest operational submarine at the time of decommissioning on January 25, 2010.

About Scorpene Submarines:

• The Scorpene Class submarines are being built in India by the MDL, under collaboration with Naval Group, earlier DCNS, France.
• The Scorpene submarines are extremely potent platforms.
• They have advanced stealth features and are also equipped with both long range guided torpedoes as well as anti-ship missiles.
• These submarines have a state of the art SONAR and sensor suite permitting outstanding operational capabilities.
• They also have an advanced Permanent Magnetic Synchronous motor (PERMASYN) as its propulsion motor.