INS Vagsheer, 6th Kalvari Class Submarine Commissioned into the Indian Navy
On January 15, INS Vagsheer, the sixth P75 Kalvari-class submarines, was officially commissioned into the Indian Navy during a ceremony in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The event was also attended by defence minister Rajnath Singh and chief of naval staff, Admiral Dinesh Tripathi. Naval Group’s chairman & CEO, Pierre Éric Pommellet, was also present alongside Naval Group’s team from France and India.
INS Vagsheer was built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) based on the Naval Group’s Scorpene design.
Launched on 20 April 2022, INS Vagsheer has completed successful sea trials and now joins its sister vessels INS Kalvari, INS Khanderi, INS Karanj, INS Vela and INS Vagir, which were commissioned respectively in December 2017, September 2019, March 2021, November 2021 and January 2023.
Pierre Éric Pommellet said on the occasion, “We are honoured to be part of the success of the P75 programme, a cornerstone of the Indo-French strategic partnership and a key achievement in India’s ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ policy. Naval Group remains fully committed to supporting the Indian Navy through future projects alongside Indian industrial partners.”
The commissioning of INS Vagsheer highlights the success of India’s indigenous submarines construction programme. This submarine has been fully built by MDL, with technology transfer from Naval Group. The series of six submarines of the P75 programme is fitted with a number of equipment built locally by Indian industry, including micro, small & medium enterprises (MSMEs). MDL and Naval Group have developed a rich industrial ecosystem of more than 100 Indian companies, along with an Indian subsidiary employing more than hundreds of Indian engineers to support the Indian Navy. This strategic partnership contributes to industrial and technological sovereignty while opening new markets opportunities for local industries, showcasing their experience gained through the programme.
The Scorpene is a 2,000 tons conventional-propulsion submarine designed and developed by Naval Group for all types of mission, such as surface vessel warfare, anti-submarine warfare, long-range strikes, special operations or intelligence gathering. Extremely stealthy and fast, it has a level of operating automation that allows a limited number of crew, which reduces its operating costs significantly. Its combat edge is highlighted by the fact that it has six weapon launching tubes and 18 weapons (torpedoes, missiles).