On 28 September 2019, INS Khanderi, the second of P75 Kalvari-class submarine, was commissioned in India by the hands of Honorable Defense Minister Shri Rajnath Singh in presence of Union Minister of State for Defense Shri Shripad Naik, Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Shri Arvind Sawant, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh, CMD MDL Commodore Rakesh Anand (IN Retired.) and several other dignitaries.
INS Khanderi is totally built by Indian shipyard Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) through years of technology transfer and partnership with Naval Group.
After a series of remarkable events such as the commissioning of INS Kalvari in December 2017, launching of the Karanj (the third submarine) in January 2018, launching of the Vela submarine (the fourth submarine) in May 2019, the Khanderi’s commissioning took place on 28th September 2019.
This event highlights the success of indigenous submarines construction program of the Government of India. These submarines have been completely built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) through technology transfer and partnership with Naval Group, in line with Indian Government’s “Make in India” policy. This series of six submarines have been fitted with a number of equipment, built in India by qualified and highly trained specialists from industrial MSMEs which form the sound base of submarine building ecosystem of India.
“The rise in competencies that MDL completed is very inspiring. It is the first time in history that such a large scale technology transfer has taken place for the making of one of the most complex products found in the world. The commissioning of the second Scorpene-class submarine constitute a new milestone for this unique and one of a kind industrial program. The additional unit of this stealthy submarine will further contribute to the self-reliance of the Indian Navy.”, highlighted Olivier de la Bourdonnaye, Senior Executive Program Director at Naval Group.
Despite the complexity of submarine building requiring millions of man/hours, the successful transfer of technology has made it possible to reach a very high indigenous content. By building upon and nurturing these know-how and skills in India, Naval Group is committed to significantly enhance the level of indigenization in future projects of the Indian Navy supported by the Indian Government.
The SCORPENE® is a 2000 tons conventional-propulsion submarine designed and developed by Naval Group for all types of mission, such as surface vessel warfare, anti-submarine warfare, long-range strikes, special operations or intelligence gathering. Extremely stealthy and fast, it has a level of operating automation that allows a limited number of crew, which reduces its operating costs significantly. Its combat edge is highlighted by the fact that it has 6 weapon launching tubes, 18 weapons (torpedoes, missiles, mines).
With 14 submarines sold internationally by Naval Group, the SCORPENE® is an essential reference product in the area of conventional attack submarines (SSK) for Navies across the globe. The product is easily adapted for improvements requested by any naval customers. The progressive improvement through dedicated and experienced designers of Naval Group ensures this seamless advances and modern technology integrations.
Naval Group is a European leader in naval defense. The group designs, builds and supports submarines and surface ships. It also supplies services to shipyards and naval bases. In addition, the group offers a wide range of marine renewable energy solutions. The group reports revenues of €3.6 billion and has a workforce of 14,860 (data for 2018).
Naval Group India is a 100 % owned subsidiary of Naval Group, which is headquartered in Paris, France. Established in September 2008 as DCNS India, it has its presence felt in 2 major cities: Mumbai and New Delhi. The main purpose of Naval Group India would be to support the Indigenization through ‘Make in India’ activities for Scorpene® submarine equipment, to develop the Indian defense eco-system, as well as to develop design services in India with talented Indian engineers.
