The Indian Navy’s first Scorpene-class stealth submarine, Kalvari, has been successfully undocked at the Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL), marking a major milestone in Project 75.
The vessel is part of the INR187.98bn ($4.16bn) Project 75 contract to build six Scorpene-class submarines, awarded to DCNS in October 2005.
Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said that defence public sector yards should: "Strive towards making the yard a globally renowned one and to play a critical role in the Indian Navy’s goal of becoming a true blue water Navy."
The first Scorpene-class vessel was originally scheduled for delivery in December 2012.
Following its final fit-out, the Kalvari submarine will now undergo harbour and sea trials to validate its weapons firing capability before its scheduled commissioning in 2016.
The remaining five vessels of Project 75 are expected to be delivered to the navy by 2020.
The 1,750t Scorpene-class vessels will feature a sonar suite that consists of a long-range, passive cylindrical array, intercept and active sonar, distributed and flank array, as well as a high-resolution sonar for mine and obstacle avoidance, and a towed array.
Powered by two diesel generation sets and armed with SM-39 Exocet anti-ship missiles, the 67m-long submarines can dive up to a depth of 300m, require minimum manning and have a low lifecycle cost.
