India's 6 nuclear powered submarine plan marches ahead with INS Karanj Commissioned

The Indian Navy on Wednesday commissioned INS Karanj, a third scorpene class submarine of Project-75 after 2 years of rigorous sea trials. Admiral VS Shekhawat, a former Naval Chief and former commanding officer of the erstwhile Karanj during the 1971 war with Pakistan, commissioned the submarine in Naval Dockyard in Mumbai. With its subsurface to surface missiles, high-tech sensors to neutralize threats, wire-guided torpedoes, and quietness to launch attacks behind enemy lines, India's latest submarine in its current incarnation will improve the navy's maritime capabilities.

INS Karanj, India's third of six Scorpene-class submarines, has superior stealth and several major combat capabilities. It is a diesel-electric attack submarine built under the Project-75 program at Mazagon Docks Limited in Mumbai in collaboration with Naval Group (formerly DCNS), the French submarine builder. The Scorpene-class submarines' superior stealth features include advanced acoustic silencing methods, low radiated noise levels, a hydrodynamically optimized shape, and the ability to target the enemy with precision-guided missiles, thanks to the state-of-the-art technology used in their construction.

Both torpedoes and tube-launched anti-ship missiles can be used in the assault, which can take place underwater or on the surface. The special attention paid to different signatures adds to the stealth of this powerful platform. Most submarines lack these stealth features, making them invulnerable.

Project 75

Under project 75, the INS Kalvari, India's first indigenous submarine, was launched in October 2015 and commissioned in December 2017, after a delay of five years. The second, INS Khanderi, was launched for sea trials in January 2017 and commissioned in September 2019. The third is the INS Karanj which has been commissioned today. The fourth submarine, the INS Vela, was launched in May two years ago and is currently undergoing sea trials, while the fifth submarine, the INS Vagir, was launched in November last year and is currently undergoing sea trials as well. The INS Vagsheer, the sixth submarine, is currently being outfitted.

Move to counter China in IOR

India's national security planners are concerned about the PLAN's expansion, anticipating the deployment of a Chinese carrier strike force in the Indian Ocean by 2023, with Beijing planning to commission a third aircraft carrier this year. This has been one of the major reasons why the Indian Navy has started with its own capability-building program.