INS Khanderi Scorpene-class Sub To Be Inducted By October

India's second Scorpene-class stealth submarine christened "INS Khanderi," will be commissioned by October of this year, Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh said on Thursday.

"For Scorpenes, we are moving well. The first one is already is service, and the second one is expected to be commissioned by September-October of this year," Singh said on the sidelines of FICCI International seminar on "Nation Building Through Shipbuilding" in New Delhi.

In June, the Indian Navy reportedly discovered 35 defects along with one "killer" defect- which is emission of an unduly high level of noise, in the "INS Khanderi" during its sea trials. It was speculated that this would push the commissioning of the submersible by nearly one year.

The first submarine, INS Kalvari was inducted into service in March of this year. The third, INS Karanj, has just begun sea trials. These submarines are among the six French-origin Scorpene submarines being built in India, named as the "Kalvari class."

The $3.75 Billion (INR 26,205 crore) contract for their licensed production was signed in October 2005 under “Project 75.”

Stealth features of the Scorpene submarines include advanced acoustic silencing techniques, low radiated noise levels, hydro-dynamically optimized shape and the ability to launch a crippling attack on the enemy using precision-guided weapons. They can undertake multifarious types of missions such as anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying, area surveillance etc.