By Staff Correspondent
The Indian Navy commissioned its fifth stealth Scorpene class submarine, INS Vagir, at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai earlier today. The submarine, which is part of Project 75 (P75), was built by the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) Mumbai in collaboration with Naval Group, France. The INS Vagir will join the Western Naval Command’s submarine fleet and be a powerful addition to the command’s arsenal. The INS Vagir was launched on 12 November 2020 and was delivered to the Indian Navy on 20 December 2022, following the completion of sea trials. The submarine holds the distinction of having the lowest build time among all indigenously manufactured submarines to date.
The commissioning ceremony was attended by the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, Vice Admiral AB Singh, Chairman and Managing Director of MDL, VAdm Narayan Prasad (Retd) and other senior civil and military officials of the Ministry of Defence. The crew of a Russian-origin Foxtrot Class Submarine, also named Vagir, decommissioned in 2001, were special invitees to the ceremony and the then commissioning Commanding Officer, Rear Admiral K Raja Menon (Retd), was also present. The Scorpene class submarines are highly advanced platforms with stealth features and long-range guided torpedoes and anti-ship missiles. These submarines have state-of-the-art SONAR and sensor suites, permitting outstanding operational capabilities.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief of the Naval Staff, Adm. R Hari Kumar highlighted that INS Vagir would give a significant fillip to the Indian Navy’s operational might and serve as a potent deterrent for any adversary. He also emphasised that Vagir is the third submarine inducted into the Navy in 24 months. “This underscores the coming of age of India’s shipbuilding industry and the maturing of our defence ecosystem. It is also a shining testimony to the expertise and experience of our shipyards to construct complex and complicated platforms and serves to reinforce Indian Navy’s unequivocal commitment and steadfast resolve to be a fully ‘AatmaNirbhar’ force by 2047,” the CNS said.
Congratulating the CMD and personnel of MDL for their commendable efforts, which have led up to Vagir’s commissioning, CNS stated that MDL is a close and valued partner for the Indian Navy and has been at the forefront of Navy’s transition from a ‘Buyer’s Navy’ to a ‘Builder’s Navy’. The CNS also complimented the Commissioning Crew stating that “it gives me every confidence that each one of you will ‘do your duty and do it well’, and that Vagir will serve the nation with pride and élan guided by the highest traditions of the Navy”.
