Kalvari, first of the Indian Navy’s Scorpene class stealth submarine being built under the Project 75 in collaboration with DCNS of France, achieved a major milestone recently with her ‘undocking’ at the Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL).

The event was witnessed by the Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis and the Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral R.K. Dhowan amongst other dignitaries present at the landmark occasion.

Parrikar urged the dock personnel “to strive towards making the yard a globally renowned one and to play a critical role in Indian Navy’s goal of becoming a true blue water Navy”. The project 75, which has already seen a delay of almost 40 months, has now been brought on track and the delivery schedule for the successive submarines have been reduced. Parrikar asked the defence public sector yards, viz. the Mazagon Dock Limited and the Goa Shipyard Limited to double their production in the coming three years.

Parrikar said as far as P75(I) project is concerned, private players can also be invited for joint venture which would help early fruition of the project. He warned that if the project is not completed in the stipulated time, the defaulting yard would have to pay penalty but an early completion would be rewarded with a bonus. He also asked MDL to take a lead in the skill development of local unemployed youth.

With a name steeped in the long and glorious tradition of its illustrious predecessor, an erstwhile Russian ‘Foxtrot’ class submarine, Kalvari, upon its scheduled commissioning in 2016, would lend an enormous fillip to the Indian Navy’s underwater capability. The remaining five boats of the Project 75 would be delivered by the yard to the Navy by 2020 and would form the core of the Navy’s submarine arm for the next two decades.

The Scorpene submarines would pack a potent punch. She would be equipped with anti-ship missiles and long-range guided torpedoes along with modern sensor suite.