India commissions second Scorpène submarine, launches first Project 17A frigate

The Indian Navy (IN) has commissioned the second of six licence-built Kalvari (Scorpène)-class diesel-electric attack submarines (SSKs).

Named INS Khanderi (pennant number S 22), the 67.5 m-long boat was inducted in a ceremony held on 28 September at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai and presided over by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

The IN said in a statement that the boat “embodies cutting-edge technologies that ensure stealthy, silent operations underwater”, adding that the submarine is equipped “with an array of torpedoes, missiles, and sensors that enable her to detect, identify, and destroy enemy targets”.

The event took place despite IN sources stating in June that commissioning would be deferred until 2020 to “fix” 36 “observations” or deficiencies found in Khanderi . The observations included what they described at the time as “unacceptably” high engine and propeller noise levels and problems with the boat’s indicator buoys and onboard toilets.

It is unclear whether these deficiencies have already been resolved or will be dealt with in the near future.

Khanderi , which was launched in January 2017 and began sea trials a few months later, is part of the IN’s INR235.62 billion (USD3.33 billion) Project 75 programme for six Scorpène-class boats, construction of which was agreed in late 2005 with Armaris: a former Naval Group (then DCNS) and Thales joint subsidiary.

The Indian government-owned Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), which handed over Khanderi to the IN on 19 September, is licence-building all six boats in collaboration with France’s Naval Group.

The programme’s first-of-class, INS Kalvari