India’s Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) has handed over to the Indian Navy (IN) the third of six Kalvari (Scorpène)-class diesel-electric attack submarines (SSKs) built under license for the service at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai.
An acceptance document for the 67.6 m long boat, which is named Karanj , was signed on 15 February by MDL and Rear Admiral B Sivakumar of the IN’s Western Naval Command. Senior IN officials told Janes the following day that the SSK, which was launched in late January 2018, is likely to be commissioned in the first half of March.
Karanj, the third of six Kalvari (Scorpène)-class SSKs ordered for the IN, is seen here during its launch ceremony in Mumbai on 31 January 2018. The submarine was formally handed over to the service on 15 February 2021. (Indian Navy)
The submarine, which is part of the IN’s INR235.62 billion (USD3.24 billion) Project 75 programme, is expected to join INS Kalvari and INS Khanderi, which were commissioned in December 2017 and September 2019. The fourth and fifth submarines of the class, Vela and Vagir, were launched in May 2019 and November 2020, and are expected to enter service in 2022.
The sixth and final submarine, Vagsheer, is in an advanced stage of construction and is likely to be launched in 2021. All six Kalvari-class boats are expected to be in service by late 2022 or early 2023, according to IN sources.
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