Express News Service
NEW DELHI: The push towards manufacturing complex indigenous military systems and equipment is bearing fruit as the Indian Navy’s Chief on Monday commissioned Indian Naval Ship (INS) Vagir, the third submarine inducted into the Navy in a short span of 24 months, in Mumbai.
Admiral R Hari Kumar in his speech said, “This is no small achievement, and 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 & complicated platforms.”
Adding that these aspects also serve to reinforce the Indian Navy’s unequivocal commitment and steadfast resolve to be a fully Aatma Nirbhar force by 2047, Admiral Kumar added, “Vagir – a platform that will give a significant fillip to the Indian Navy’s operational might – and serve as a potent deterrent for any adversary.”
INS Vagir is the fifth Submarine of the six under Project 75 Kalvari class and has been commissioned within the shortest time in the history of indigenously-manufactured submarines. It took its first sea trial on 01 February 2021. These submarines are being built in India by the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), Mumbai, under collaboration with Naval Group, France. Vagsheer, the sixth and last of the class, was launched in April 2022 and is expected to be commissioned in two years.
It is important as while the Indian Navy’s underwater combat arm is operating submarines more than 20 years old, its manufacturing programmes are also running late. Meanwhile China has been augmenting its naval power with continuous deployment of warships and submarines into the Indian Ocean. China has become the biggest Navy with 355 warships and submarines while India’s total fleet strength is 130.
In the Navy, it is a time-honoured naval tradition that ‘old ships and submarines never die.’ In keeping with that spirit, INS Vagir is a re-incarnation of the erstwhile Vagir, which served India and the Indian Navy for three decades. Vagir takes its name from the ‘Sand shark’, a deadly deep-sea predator of the Indian Ocean. In its new avatar too, INS Vagir is packed with “a formidable weapon package and state-of-the-art stealth technology.
“Her capabilities and firepower will not only enhance the Navy’s combat potential, but also add teeth to our deterrence,” said the CNS.
Admiral Kumar commended the staff and all workers of MDL. He also complimented the submarine’s Commanding Officer and his team for their unwavering commitment and sustained efforts towards progressing all major trials, including those of weapons and sensors, within a short span of just eleven months. “As the commissioning crew, you bear an onerous responsibility. In that, while you must ensure the highest levels of combat-readiness and efficiency, you also have to work to establish and nurture the culture and the soul of Vagir,” the Navy chief said.
The contract for P-75 was signed in 2005. The first of the P-75 submarines was inducted into the Navy in December 2017.
NEW DELHI: The push towards manufacturing complex indigenous military systems and equipment is bearing fruit as the Indian Navy’s Chief on Monday commissioned Indian Naval Ship (INS) Vagir, the third submarine inducted into the Navy in a short span of 24 months, in Mumbai.
Admiral R Hari Kumar in his speech said, “This is no small achievement, and 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 & complicated platforms.”
Adding that these aspects also serve to reinforce the Indian Navy’s unequivocal commitment and steadfast resolve to be a fully Aatma Nirbhar force by 2047, Admiral Kumar added, “Vagir – a platform that will give a significant fillip to the Indian Navy’s operational might – and serve as a potent deterrent for any adversary.”
INS Vagir is the fifth Submarine of the six under Project 75 Kalvari class and has been commissioned within the shortest time in the history of indigenously-manufactured submarines. It took its first sea trial on 01 February 2021. These submarines are being built in India by the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), Mumbai, under collaboration with Naval Group, France. Vagsheer, the sixth and last of the class, was launched in April 2022 and is expected to be commissioned in two years.
It is important as while the Indian Navy’s underwater combat arm is operating submarines more than 20 years old, its manufacturing programmes are also running late. Meanwhile China has been augmenting its naval power with continuous deployment of warships and submarines into the Indian Ocean. China has become the biggest Navy with 355 warships and submarines while India’s total fleet strength is 130.
In the Navy, it is a time-honoured naval tradition that ‘old ships and submarines never die.’ In keeping with that spirit, INS Vagir is a re-incarnation of the erstwhile Vagir, which served India and the Indian Navy for three decades. Vagir takes its name from the ‘Sand shark’, a deadly deep-sea predator of the Indian Ocean. In its new avatar too, INS Vagir is packed with “a formidable weapon package and state-of-the-art stealth technology.
“Her capabilities and firepower will not only enhance the Navy’s combat potential, but also add teeth to our deterrence,” said the CNS.
Admiral Kumar commended the staff and all workers of MDL. He also complimented the submarine’s Commanding Officer and his team for their unwavering commitment and sustained efforts towards progressing all major trials, including those of weapons and sensors, within a short span of just eleven months. “As the commissioning crew, you bear an onerous responsibility. In that, while you must ensure the highest levels of combat-readiness and efficiency, you also have to work to establish and nurture the culture and the soul of Vagir,” the Navy chief said.
The contract for P-75 was signed in 2005. The first of the P-75 submarines was inducted into the Navy in December 2017.
