The Mazgaon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) would launch 'Vagsheer,' the sixth submarine in the P75 Scorpene project, officials said. In February 2022, sea trials for 'Vagir,' Project 75's fifth submarine, began. According to a report by news agency PTI, the sixth submarine will be launched on April 20, allowing officials to conduct sea testing before commissioning.
Vice Admiral (retd) Narayan Prasad, Chairman and Managing Director of MDL, said the company currently has an order book of Rs 46,000 crore, which includes six submarine projects, Project 15 Bravo destroyers, and Project 17 Alpha Stealth frigates.
He said, "We have delivered four submarines, one destroyer. These programmes are going to extend for the next three-four years." In April and May of this year, we hope to deploy three platforms: a submarine, a Project 15 Bravo destroyer, and a stealth frigate. We are attempting to deliver one submarine, one 15 Bravo destroyer, and one 17 Alpha frigate before the end of the year, according to Prasad. The P-75 Scorpene project's final submarine is Vagsheer. The INS Kalvari, INS Khanderi, INS Karanj, and INS Vela have all been commissioned, while the Vagir is currently undergoing sea trials.
Project 75
Under project 75, the INS Kalvari, India's first indigenous submarine, was launched in October 2015 and commissioned in December 2017, after a delay of five years. The second, INS Khanderi, was launched for sea trials in January 2017 and commissioned in September 2019. The third is the INS Karanj which had been commissioned in 2021. The fourth submarine, the INS Vela, was launched in May three years ago and has been inducted into the Indian Navy. While the fifth submarine, the INS Vagir, was launched in November 2020.
