The Indian Navy has decommissioned the last of the Foxtrot Class submarines, INS Vagli, after 36 years of operational service.
INS Vagli’s retirement brings the number of submarines in India to just 14, of which, only eight to nine diesel-electric submarines are operational at any given time.
The navy’s capabilities will get progressively worse to 2015 when the first of six Scorpene submarines, being built at Mazagon Docks, is expected to enter service.
The Rs235.62bn ($5.1bn) project is three years behind schedule and is expected to roll out all six submarines by 2020, according to the Times of India.
According to the latest projections, India will have only five of the existing ten Russian Kilo Class and four German HDW submarines by 2020 and only two by 2022.
The actual submarine requirement for India has been estimated at 18, especially when both China and Pakistan are rapidly bolstering their underwater combat capabilities.
