Arun Jaitley to review Scorpene submarine project in Mumbai today

Indian Defence Minister Arun Jaitley will on Monday review Scorpene submarine project here.

The six Scorpenes are being constructed at the Mazagon Dockyards Limited (MDL) in Mumbai under Project-75 under technology transfer from French firm DCNS.

The first of the six Scorpene submarines ordered by the Indian Navy from DCNS in 2005, as part of the technology transfer between the two countries, will be rolled out by 2014.

Exclusive: This is INS Arihant, First Made-in-India Nuclear Submarine

The INS Arihant, country's first made-at-home nuclear submarine is being built in top secret conditions at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

NDTV's Science Editor Pallava Bagla has accessed the first images of the 6,000-tonne vessel, the first of a class of three nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines with a displacement of 6,000 tonnes. She is designed to carry four nuclear-tipped submarine-launched ballistic missiles called the K-4 which have a range of 3,500 kilometres or a dozen Bo 5 missiles which can strike targets about 700 kilometres away.

The heart of the Arihant is its nuclear reactor, an Indian designed-and-built 83MW pressurized water reactor. The Arihant still faces its biggest trial - the test launch of a ballistic missile while submerged. It is only once that happens that the Arihant will be battle-worthy.

When the submarine is declared fighting-fit, India will become one of only six countries in the world with the knowledge of designing, engineering and operating a nuclear submarine.

Nuclear submarines are the ultimate stealth weapon. Highly mobile and technically capable of remaining underwater for months if required, a ballistic missile submarine effectively gives a nuclear power like India the ability to keep shifting a mobile nuclear base which needs to be prepared to strike after authorized launch codes are transmitted from the country's nuclear command. Detecting nuclear submarines underwater has become a finely calibrated art practiced by the superpowers through decades of the Cold War. The more quiet a nuclear submarine, the more stealthy it is.

 

 

India presently operates another nuclear submarine, the INS Chakra, a nuclear attack submarine of the Akula-2 class from Russia. The Chakra does not carry nuclear weapons but would likely be deployed with the Arihant during its pre-commissioning trials to protect this key nuclear asset.

Like other key strategic weapons systems, the INS Arihant is being developed under the aegis of the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), which is accountable to the Defence Ministry. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the agency in Delhi today and said, "At least five DRDO labs should be identified exclusively for innovation with young scientists up to the age of 35 years. They should be managed by leaders also in the same age group".

 

"DRDO is becoming hollow at the bottom," says Dr Avinash Chander, the agency's chief. He said he can induct only about 70 fresh scientists every year instead of the nearly 300 recruits it used to add annually till recently.

India to indigenously build periscopes for navy

India, in a step towards enhancing its underwater operational capabilities, will equip its Navy submarines with indigenous periscopes.

Talking to an English Daily, The Tribune in Dehradun, Avinash Chander, Scientific Adviser to Union Defence Minister and Director General, Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO),

 

disclosed that a periscope constituted an important component of submarines and the DRDO was working towards giving the Indian Navy its first indigenous periscope within the next two years.

 

When a submarine is submerged, a periscope can provide a view of the objects on the surface of water and in the air. Chander said the DRDO was also working to install state-of-the-art fire control system and night vision devises in naval ships.

 

He disclosed that the DRDO was engaged in developing a sensor fabrication facility. The Rs7 billion project will enable indigenisation of sensors which will enhance efficiency of country’s weaponry.

Currently, these sensors were being imported from France, Israel and Russia. Chander said the country’s spending on Research and Development was minuscule, probably the lowest in the world.

Fire in cables led to INS Sindhuratna mishap: Navy

INS Sindhuratna was caused due to problems in the cable and not the battery compartment, as was being feared earlier, Navy officials said here.

The investigations are still going on into the incident and other two accidents involving the Kilo class submarines of the Navy in the last seven months, they said.

The battery pit has been found to be fully safe and the fire took place in the compartment above it, Navy officials said.

Former Navy chief Admiral DK Joshi resigned after the accident involving the Sindhuratna taking moral responsibility of the ten accidents involving maritime force's assets.

The Sindhuratna is one of the navy's fleet of nine Kilo class submarines. A tenth submarine, the INS Sindhurakshak exploded and sank in the naval dockyard on August 14, 2013 killing 18 crewmen on board. The Sindhuratna was moored nearby and suffered minor fire damage when the Sindhurakshak exploded.

The board of inquiry (BoI) into the February 26 accident has found that the fire in

The fire in submarine INS Sindhuratna, which resulted in the death of two officers and severely affected seven other sailors last week, was caused due to problems in the cables of the vessel.

Test of Sub-Launched Missile Soon

The DRDO is getting set to conduct a crucial trial of sub-marine launched ballistic missile (SLBM) B-05, earlier known as K-15, from an underwater platform off the Visakhapatnam coast soon. The test would pave the way for its first ever test from a nuclear powered submarine later this year.

 

A reliable source at the Chandipur test range told this paper that the nuke-capable missile is likely to be test-fired from a pontoon (replica of a submarine) nearly 20 metre under sea off the Vizag coast on March 10.

Though earlier it was scheduled to be test-fired from the indigenously built nuclear powered submarine INS Arihant, the latter is yet to be readied for live trials. Sea trials of the submarine have not been started yet even though it went critical on August 10 last year.

 

This submarine is a part of the country’s Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) programme. India is the fifth country to have this technology after the US, Russia, France and China. It has to complete at least two to three trials before the deployment. Four more submarines of this class have been planned.

B-05 is the world’s best weapon in this class. Flying at hypersonic speed, the missile cannot be spotted until it is virtually upon the target. It engages in a series of terminal manoeuvres designed to defeat enemy missiles.

 

SLBM is a part of India’s ‘nuclear triad’ (air, ground and submarine-launched weapons) and invulnerable second-strike weapon as projected in the nuclear doctrine. The missile can be compared with the Tomahawk missile of the US.

 

DRDO scientists in presence of the Navy officials will conduct the test from a submerged pontoon as the Arihant submarine has not been fully ‘operational’.  Radars, telemetry systems and other tracking equipment have been dispatched to various locations to track the missile properly.

 

The indigenously developed B-05 missile having a strike range of around 750 km is 10 metres in length and one metre in diameter. Its launch weight is about 10 tonnes.

Crossed the Bar and Resting on Their Oars - Two sailors found dead in Indian submarine accident

Two Indian naval officers were found dead Thursday after they went missing in a submarine fire off Mumbai’s coast, the latest in a string of accidents that have forced the navy’s chief to quit.

Seven other crew members were airlifted to hospital with breathing problems after smoke began to fill the vessel’s living quarters on Wednesday, an accident that comes only six months after another deadly submarine disaster in Mumbai.

“The two officers who were earlier declared missing have been located in the (submarine) compartment and after examination by Medical Officers both the officers were declared dead,” said an emailed statement from the defence ministry.

Admiral DK Joshi, the chief of naval staff, announced Wednesday night he was standing down to take “moral responsibility” for the accident on board the Russian-built INS Sindhuratna during exercises. 

Last August, 18 sailors were killed when the fully-armed submarine INS Sindhurakshak exploded in flames and sank in a military shipyard in Mumbai.

That disaster was thought to be the Indian Navy’s worst since the sinking of a frigate by a Pakistani submarine during a war with its neighbour in 1971. Various other naval accidents reported in recent months included a submarine running aground in Mumbai’s harbour, fires on a minesweeping vessel and an aircraft carrier, and a collision between a frigate and a fishing boat. The Indian navy has 14 submarines, but only between seven and nine are operational at any one time because of regular repair and refitting. Defence experts say the navy has an ageing fleet and has struggled with delays in the acquisition of new submarines and poor servicing.

Defence Minister AK Antony told reporters on Thursday that outgoing chief Joshi was “pretty much disturbed about the whole development”.

“He requested me to take his resignation with immediate effects,” Antony said.

While a full inquiry is expected to determine the exact cause of the latest accident, the navy said it appeared to have been due to sparks in a sleeping cabin.

According to the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency, smoke filled a compartment and triggered emergency measures, such as the closure of hatches which isolate sections of the submarine. The missing pair “might have been left in the cabin or at some other place as various cabins and compartments are isolated as part of the emergency measures”, PTI quoted an unnamed navy officer as saying on Wednesday.
The stricken submarine docked in Mumbai on Thursday morning, allowing the navy to ventilate the vessel and step up their search for the missing pair.

INS Sindhuratna is a kilo-class submarine which normally operates with a crew of 53 and can sail on its own for 45 days, the navy’s website says.

The submarine had only been handed back to the navy in December after undergoing a major refit, according to local reports.

It had been undergoing trials off the Mumbai coast as part of a clearance process for full operations when the incident occurred. 

Russia is still the biggest military supplier to India, but relations have been strained by major delays and cost overruns with a refurbished aircraft carrier, the INS Vikramaditya.

India - Navy Chief quits over spate of submarine mishaps

India’s navy chief, Admiral D.K. Joshi resigned as chief of the Indian navy, owning “moral responsibility for the accidents and incidents during the past few months”, the Defence Ministry said on Wednesday. Admiral Joshi is the first Indian military commander to have resigned since General Kodandera Subayya Thimmaiah in 1959 -- and the only to have his resignation accepted by the government.

 

The naval chief's resignation came hours after a fire on board the newly-refitted Sindhuratna claimed the lives of two naval officers and injured seven -- the third in a series of submarine accidents, including an explosion on the Sindhurakshak which exploded and sank in Mumbai’s naval dockyard in August, 2013, killing 18 crew. Last month, the Sindhughosh ran ground on its way to Mumbai harbour, though without loss of life.

 

Experts that the resignation also came against concerns within the navy on the capabilities of its fleet, and “It is highly principled of the Admiral to offer his resignation”, said Commodore C. Uday Bhaskar, a prominent naval analyst and former officer “but I suspect the real reasons have to do with frustration over successive governments failing to modernise the submarine fleet”.

 

Dangerous fleet

 

Five of, of India’s thirteen conventionally-powered submarines, naval sources have told The Hindu, have exceeded their design life. The INS Sindhughosh, Sindhudhaj, the Sindhuraj, Sindhuvir and ill-fated Sindhuratna, all Russian-manufactured Kilo-class submarines, were all inducted between 1986 and 1988. The most recent of the Kilo-class fleet, the Sindhushastra, was puchased in 2000, preceded by the Sindhurakshak in 1997, and the Sindhuvijay was inducted in 1991.

 

The Sindhurakshak had suffered an earlier fire accident in 2010, which claimed the life of a sailor.

 

“In an ideal world”, a senior submarine commander said, “you’d want to keep a submarine in active service for no more than two decades or so. The navy has refitted its submarines to keep them running, but age obviously increases the risks of material failures significantly”.

 

The Navy has long complained of delays in submarine fleet modernisation, at a time when regional navies, notably China, are dramatically expanding their fleets. India also does not have a full-fledged submarine rescue vessel.

 

Vice Admiral Robin Dhowan will take over as Acting Naval Chief till a regular Chief is appointed.

Smoke on INS Sindhuratna; 2 Navy officers missing

The incident happened off the Mumbai coast on the kilo-class submarine while it was on a routine training exercise.

Minor smoke was detected on Indian Navy Submarine Sindhuratna on Wednesday in the early morning hours. Five sailors have sustained minor injuries, Navy sources said.

News agency PTI says two officials were unaccounted for. "They might have been left in the cabin or at some other place as various cabins and compartments are isolated as part of the emergency measures," said a Navy officer to PTI.

The incident happened off the Mumbai coast around 150 Nautical miles on the kilo class submarine while it was on its routine training exercise.

The exact cause and the origin of the fire is yet to be ascertained. Sources claim that there is no grave damage caused to the submarine. As soon as the crew raised an alarm , a Navy helicopter and a Fast Attack craft were sent by the Navy.

"The smoke was detected around 6 am on the submarine by the crew. As soon as the Navy Operation Centre learnt about the mishap, Navy helicopters and a Fast Attack aircraft were pressed into service. The men who inhaled smoke because of the enclosed compartments were airlifted to INS base Ashwini and are recuperating at the Navy hospital ," Navy spokesperson told The Hindu.

"The submarine is afloat and no damage has been reported. The Navy crew is on board and the damage is being ascertained," the spokesperson added.

According to sources, the kilo class submarine was carrying no ammunition since it was still in testing mode and was yet to be placed under operation. Another submarine will also be pressed into service to render assistance , sources said.

Following the incident the submarine will be tested for its sea worthiness.

This is the third incident concerning a kiloclass submarine in the recent past. Last year 18 crew members died after a major fire broke out on INS Sindhurakshak.

India - Wife of submarine accident victim seeks enquiry

The wife of a person who died in the de-commissioned submarine INS Vagli in Chennai on January 27 has filed a writ petition in the Madras High Court seeking compensation and a high-level enquiry into the incident.
 

The petitioner, B. Vijaya Bharathi of Villivakkam said that her husband, Bhavani Shankar, a Chemistry graduate had more than 20 years of experience in vessel-related engineering and was a specialist in the field. He was running ‘Akshaya Marine Engineering,’ a small company. The Tamil Nadu Government had proposed to establish a maritime heritage museum at Mamallapuram near here with the decommissioned submarine as the centre-piece of attraction.
 

Last month, her husband and other workmen were working on the vessel with the aim of getting it towed to Mamallapuram. On January 27, the workers developed giddiness and fell down allegedly due to gas leaking from the submarine. Her husband and another person, Mahendran, were declared dead.
 

The petitioner said that due to the accident, she lost her husband, who was the family’s sole breadwinner. She sent a representation to the authorities for conducting a high-level enquiry into the tragedy and seeking compensation. However, no action was taken. Hence, the present petition.
 

Justice R. Subbiah adjourned the matter for February 26.

 

Indian Navy has to take call on inducting Brahmos' submarine version

Brahmos Aerospace, an Indo-Russia joint venture and manufacturer of the cruise missile, is awaiting decision from the Indian Navy, to induct its submarine version, a top official said on Friday.

Brahmos has successfully test fired the underwater version in March last and "Indian Navy has to take a decision in this regard (induction)," A Shivathanu Pillai, Brahmos CEO, told reporters here.

Shivathanu Pillai, who was here to address the heads of various department and students of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, said the company recently test-fired the missile on Salvo mode.

 

After the successful test firing, eight cruise missiles could be fired on Salvo mode in the future, at different targets, he said.

Boosting Navy's firepower, the 290km-range BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was successfully fired from a naval warship INS Trikand in salvo mode in the Arabian Sea recently.

On export of the cruise missiles, he said so far no decision has been taken for exports, since the requirement in Indian defence was very huge.

DRDO was continuously working to keep Indian soldiers healthy and energetic and trying to find food from ordinary things available in the nature.

It had developed an anti-oxidant juice from sea buck thorn, which were being marketed across the country, he said.

To promote research in biotechnology and nano-technology, DRDO has already set up a Centre for Life Sciences in Bharathiar University here and provided Rs 18 crore for the phase one project.

Another Rs seven crore was recently sanctioned for the phase-two out of Rs 22 crore, and the University will work with Agricultural University in the field of bio and nano technology, for benefit of farmers, he added.

In his address to students, Pillai said with shortage of water in India, researchers, scientists and farmers have to depend totally on technology, to get higher yield and production, to achieve the food security.

Dwelling on expert systems for agriculture, like space technology, solar and nuclear technologies, he said India has become food surplus now, by producing 262.7 million tonnes of foodgrains at the end of green revolution and second green revolution has set a target of 400 million tonnes by 2020.

2nd nuclear submarine lease likely to be 'X factor' in Indo-Russian summit

Deals on Kudankulam’s 3 and 4th reactor and the production of SSJ-100 are unlikely to be reached during the talks, according to informed sources

 

At least half a dozen bilateral agreements in spheres like energy, biotechnology, metrology and technical regulations, and a big ticket deal on an undisclosed subject, are expected to be signed at the 14th Indo-Russian annual summit in Moscow on October 21, key Indian officials involved in the negotiations (which are still going on) said. However the X factor that is likely to dominate the summit and the strategic outcome, whether announced or unannounced, is Russia agreeing to lease second nuclear submarine to India.

 

India has been looking to take a second nuclear submarine on lease from Russia and talks are believed to have progressed well. The two sides are keeping budget-level secrecy on this subject. The issue is likely to dominate discussions between Singh and Putin during a restricted meeting where the two principals meet with select aides.

 

Normally, sensitive subjects like nuclear submarines are not announced formally. It is yet to be seen whether the subject will find a mention in the Joint Statement to be released after the visit but a broad framework on defence and scientific cooperation is likely to be unveiled after the talks.

 

The only nuclear submarine with the Indian Navy currently, INS Chakra, has also been taken on lease from Russia. The boat joined active service in the Indian Navy in April 2012. The ten-year lease has cost India almost a billion dollars.

 

The Indian Navy personnel are quite satisfied with the leased nuclear submarine as the 80-personnel capacity boat can remain under water as long as human endurance allows. Another operational advantage of the boat is that its noise level is virtually zero which enhances its stealth qualities.

 

The second nuclear submarine lease is likely to cost considerably more. Indian Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh is scheduled to hold a press conference on Manmohan Singh’s visit to Russia and China during which she would inevitably be asked questions about the second nuclear submarine lease plans.

 

Defence ties

 

Government-to-government route, comparable to the American Foreign Military Supplies (FMS) programme, is being actively considered to repair the strains in Indo-Russian defence relations from the Russian viewpoint.

 

Russia has been complaining to India for losing out on several defence deals over the past two years largely because of India’s radically changed Defence Procurement Policy (DPP) which puts greater emphasis on indigenization.

 

But despite some recent setbacks, Russia still tops the list of foreign defence suppliers, having secured orders worth $16 billion in orders during the three-year period of April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2013. This amounts to almost 40 percent of the Indian defence imports in this period which totaled $38 billion. Currently Russian arms factories are working on cumulative Indian orders worth $20 billion, enough to keep them busy for years.

 

Energy, trade, investment issues

 

The October 21 summit will be dominated by energy, trade and investment issues.

 

On the energy front, Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant’s 3^rd and 4^th units and Indian concerns about ONGC’s loss-making investment in Imperial Energy which is engaged in mineral extraction in western Siberia would be the main talking points at the summit, officials said.

 

It is a work in progress on the tricky issue of KNPP 3 and 4 and no agreements are likely to be signed during the summit. The matter is currently at the technical talk’s stage.

 

The two sides’ prime focus will be on giving a much-needed impetus to the bilateral trade, currently at a below-par $11 billion with a target of taking it to $20 billion by 2015. The leaders will be tightening bolts and screws of a mechanism of deepening cooperation in multiple and diverse sectors such as information technology, fertilizers, infrastructure and aviation.

 

The two leaders are likely to discuss the idea of Russians producing passenger aircraft SSJ-100 and Irkut in India for India to keep the cost of production considerably lower. Again, an agreement is unlikely to be signed during the summit in this context because the matter is being discussed by technical experts from the two sides.

 

Fertilizer sector is another highly important area that promises rich returns as Russia is a leading producer and India a major importer of the commodity. The two sides are likely to agree to intensify their cooperation in this area which can give billions of dollars to Russia in the long run.

Tangled in red tape, India's submarine fleet sinking

The navy's desperate attempts to rescue its sinking underwater combat arm have been dealt a double whammy. First, the ongoing project to construct six Scorpene submarines has been delayed by another 14-18 months, with the first vessel now slated to roll out of Mazagon Dock Limited(MDL) by November 2016 at the earliest.

More worryingly, the new project to construct six advanced stealth submarines, armed with both land-attack missile capabilities and air-independent propulsion for greater underwater endurance, is still stuck in political apathy and bureaucratic red-tape. It has already been examined by three committees after being granted "acceptance of necessity" in November 2007.

The finance ministry has now again returned the file for the over Rs 50,000-crore project, code-named Project-75India, to the defence ministry for clarifications.

"The draft Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) note for P-75I is simply being tossed around with no resolution in sight. The global tender or RFP (request for proposal) for it can be issued only after the CCS approves the file," said a source.

Even if the P-75I tender is floated today, it will take at least three years to ink the contract with the selected foreign collaborator, and another seven to eight years after that for the first submarine to be built.

With the over Rs 23,000 crore Scorpene (P-75) project already running four years behind the original 2012-17 induction schedule, alarms bells are now ringing. The navy is making do with just 14 aging conventional diesel-electric submarines — 10 Russian Kilo-class and four German HDW ones — which are to be progressively retired in the coming years despite life-extension refits. China and Pakistan, meanwhile, are adding muscle to their underwater combat fleets.

Way back in 1999, the CCS approved a 30-year submarine-building plan, which envisaged induction of 12 new submarines by 2012, followed by another dozen by 2030. But the government's inability to plan and take decisions means the navy is yet to get a single submarine 14 years later.

P-75I is embroiled in a debate over the "selection of Indian shipyards" and the "indigenization level to be achieved". While two submarines are to be imported, four will be constructed in India.

The navy wants private shipyards to be involved in the project to save time since MDL is overburdened with orders. But the MoD's defence production department has insisted that three will be built at MDL in Mumbai and one at Hindustan Shipyard in Visakhapatnam.

The Scorpene project, with contracts being inked with French firms in October 2005 has been grossly mismanaged, with huge time and cost overruns. The deal for the 'MDL procured material packages', including sensors, propulsion and the likes, with the French firms was signed only last December. The order for heavy-weight torpedoes to arm the submarines is also yet to be placed.

Projections show only five to six of the present 14 Indian submarines will be fully operational by 2020. Even with a few Scorpenes by then, India will remain far short of the minimum 18 conventional submarines required to deter Pakistan and China.

INS Arihant reactor to be made critical next week

Moving towards completing its nuclear triad, India will activate the atomic reactor on-board the indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant next week paving way for its operational deployment by the Navy soon.

"We are gearing up for the sea trials of Arihant," DRDO chief V K Saraswat said today at an award function here.

"The nuclear reactor on-board the INS Arihant would be made critical (activated) in first week of June," sources said on the development of the nuclear submarine.

Nuclear triad is the ability to fire nuclear-tipped missiles from land, air and sea. After the nuclear reactor is activated, the agencies concerned can work towards readying the warship for operational deployments soon.

INS Arihant has been undergoing trials at Navy's key submarine base in Vishakhapatnam and would be launched for sea trials after the nuclear reactor goes critical.

The DRDO has also readied a medium-range nuclear missile BO-5 for being deployed on the Arihant and its last developmental trial was held on January 27 off the coast of Vishakhapatnam.

The nuclear submarine will help India achieve the capability of going into high seas without the need to surface the vessel for long durations.

Conventional diesel-electric submarines have to come up on surface at regular intervals for charging the cells of the vessel.

India - AK Antony admits to limitations in deploying subs

With the navy's submarine force levels slated to reach their lowest ever by 2015, defence minister AK Antony on Tuesday acknowledged limitations in the country's ability to deploy its entire fleet.

The navy currently operates 14 submarines, including a nuclear-powered attack submarine leased from Russia. However, the viable strength of its submarine arm is much less, factoring in the operational availability of the boats.

"There are some operational constraints regarding conventional submarines," Antony said, in his address to the navy's top commanders. 

As reported first by HT on April 9, a confidential defence ministry report had warned that India had never before been poised in such a vulnerable situation and its undersea force levels were "at a highly precarious state."

In contrast to India's humble fleet, China operates close to 45 submarines, including two ballistic missile submarines. It also plans to construct 15 additional Yuan-class attack submarines, based on German diesel engine purchases.

The size of India's submarine fleet will roughly be the same as that of the Pakistani Navy in two years.

By 2015, the navy will be left with merely six to seven submarines, including India's first and only nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine INS Arihant, as it begins phasing out the Russian Kilo class and German HDW Type 209 submarines next year.

Antony said, "Funds will never be a constraint for capital acquisition, but must be utilized judiciously."

The navy has asked the government to float a global tender immediately to acquire six next-generation subs worth Rs. 55,000 crore under a project called P-75I.

Shipbuilders DCNS of France, HDW of Germany, Rosoboronexport of Russia and Navantia of Spain are expected to make a beeline for that order.

Six Scorpene submarines are currently being built at the Mazagon Dock Ltd in Mumbai with technology from French firm DCNS under a Rs. 23,562-crore project codenamed P-75.

The first of these boats, however, will not be ready for induction before 2016-17, although originally it should have been commissioned into the navy last year.

India's underwater edge is getting blunted at a time when an increasing number of Chinese submarines are venturing into the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), posing a danger to the country's security interests, the classified document said.

In a first, top officials from other naval commands joined in the discussions through videoconferencing.

India receives retrofited sub INS Sindhurakshak

India's Russian-built submarine the INS Sindhurakshak arrived at its home port Mumbai after an overhaul including structural hull upgrades at the Zvezdochka shipyard.

The Sindhurakshak -- a Russian Type 877EKM submarine, Sindhughosh class for the Indian navy -- was constructed in Admiralteiskie Verfi shipyard in St. Petersburg in 1997.

It's one of 10 Kilo class submarines constructed in Russia's shipyards for the Indian navy from 1985-2000, a report by TV-Novosti said in January.

Zvezdochka shipyard, in Severodvinsk, near Archangel on Russia's western Arctic Ocean coast, signed the retrofit deal in June 2010 and the submarine arrived the following August.

The overhaul and retrofit for the 2,300-ton vessel reportedly cost around $80 million, TV-Novosti said.

Work included overhaul of hull structures, installation of upgraded electronic warfare and weapons control systems, the mounting of Indian-made sonar USHUS and installation of CCS-MK radio communication systems.

 

The submarine was handed over to the Indian navy in Severodvinsk Jan. 26 -- India's Republic Day -- and immediately left for Mumbai, a report by Russia and Indian Report said.

The Sindhurakshak is armed with the latest export variant of the Russian-made submarine-specific Club-S multi-role cruise missile system capable of hitting targets more than 150 miles away, the RIR report said.

The Club-S, which has an 880-pound warhead, has improved effectiveness because of its active radar seeker system, the Args 14e designed by Radar MMS of St. Petersburg, a technical report by Defense Update said in 2006.

The Args system radar system kicks in around 12 miles from the missile's target to improve accuracy.

A Club-S can be launched from standard torpedo tubes at a depth of up to 130 feet, Defense Update said. It cruises towards the target initially at 70 feet above seal level and drops down to around 25 feet on final approach.

The Kilo class vessels can travel at around a maximum 20 mph at a depth of around 900 feet.

Zvezdochka also has modernized India's Kilo class submarines Sinduvir, Sindhuratna, Sindugosh and Sinduvijay submarines since 1997.

The shipyard expects to receive its next retrofit contract from India in 2014 or 2015, RIR said. It also will repair and upgrade the Sindukirti Kilo class submarine at the vessel's base in Visakhapatnam in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

Meanwhile, India's Scorpene submarine project could face an 18-month delivery delay after the pullout of consultants from Spanish shipbuilding partner Navantia.

Mazagon Dock Ltd., the government shipbuilder in Mumbai where the vessels are being made, informed the navy that the project would be delayed by another 18 months to the end of 2016, a report by India's Times News Network said last month.

Delivery was expected sometime in 2015.

The Scorpene is a diesel-electric attack submarine with additional air-independent propulsion jointly developed by the French shipbuilder DCN -- now DCNS -- and Spain's Navantia.

The submarines were ordered in 2005 under a technology transfer agreement.

First Scorpene submarine would be ready by 2014: French envoy

The first of the six Scorpene submarines ordered by the Indian Navy from French firm DCNS in 2005, as part of the technology transfer between the two countries, will be rolled out by 2014, France's top diplomat in India said today.

"The first submarine would be ready by 2014, heralding an important and strategic tie-up between both the nations on the defence front", said Francois Richier, Ambassador of France in India, adding the rest of five submarines would be delivered every subsequent year.

"Such kind of submarines are important for Indian Navy considering the long coast it has to guard", he said.

Richier is in Goa to visit French Destroyer 'FNS Montcalm' which is here as the part of training exercises with the Indian Navy.

The six Scorpenes are being constructed at the Mazagon Dockyards Limited (MDL) in Mumbai under Project-75 under technology transfer from French firm DCNS.

The government approval for construction of the six submarines was accorded in September 2005 at a total cost of Rs 18,798 crore and the contract was signed in October that year.

The project cost was revised to Rs 23,562 crore in February 2010, along with revision in delivery schedule.

"The induction of Scorpene submarines would enhance Indian Navy's capabilities to conduct exercises in the open sea. These are the last generation of conventional submarines", a senior French naval officer said.

Designed for coastal defence against under-water threats, the 1,750-tonne submarine-submarine-killer (SSK) Scorpene is 67 meters in length and can dive to a depth of 300 meters. Ccording to French naval officials, the submarine can stay at sea for 45 days with a crew of 31.

The standard version has six torpedo tubes and anti-shipping missile launchers.

Indian, US Navies to undertake submarine rescue operations

If an Indian submarine gets "disabled" deep underwater, the sailors are sunk since the country has only rudimentary submarine rescue facilities. Now, in a unique and complex endeavour, Indian and US Navies are coming together to practice the rescue of "trapped" submariners from deep under the sea.

The Indo-US submarine rescue exercise will start later this month, with the US Navy slated to fly down a submarine rescue system - a deep-submergence rescue vessel (DSRV) or a submarine rescue chamber (SRC) — to Mumbai, say sources.

The DSRV or SRC will then be shipped to the exercise area, where it will dive deep underwater to "mate" with the "disabled" submarine to rescue sailors in an intricate manoeuvre rarely practiced by Indian sailors.

A DSRV or "mini submarine", equipped with pressurised chambers, sonars and cameras, can rescue 24 sailors at a time from a depth up to 610 metres after "mating" with a stricken vessel's hatch. At present, Indian sailors only bank upon "submarine escape pressurized suits", or the help of diving support ships like INS Nireekshak, but they can be used only for relatively shallow depths.

Navy's endeavour to procure two DSRVs of its own, for just about Rs 1,000 crore, has been stuck in the doldrums for well over a decade now. As "an interim measure" in 1997, India had inked the contract with the US Navy for its "global submarine rescue fly-away kit" service, paying an initial $734,443 for it.

But the agreement also got derailed due to the post-Pokhran-II sanctions in 1998. It was later revived in 2004, but there has been a huge delay in setting up the requisite infrastructure needed for it. This also included fitting of "Padeyes" - holding devices welded into submarine escape hatches to secure the DSRV - on Indian submarines. The US rescue system, as per the deal, will be transported to India within 72 hours of an emergency.

Proper submarine rescue facilities are critical for India since it has an ageing fleet of 14 diesel-electric submarines — 10 Russian `Kilo' class and four German HDW ones — apart from the nuclear-powered INS Chakra leased from Russia earlier this year.

There are also six French Scorpene "killer" submarines, being constructed at Mazagon Docks under the Rs 23,562 crore 'Project-75', slated for delivery in 2015-20, three years behind schedule. India also hopes to make its own nuclear submarine INS Arihant operational next year, which is to be followed by two additional "follow-on vessels".

Submarines - An Indian Tale Of Woe

September 8, 2012: India's effort to build the first six subs (French Scorpenes), under license, has been delayed several times and the price has gone up to $5 billion ($834 million each). While this effort will leave India with thousands of workers and specialists experienced in building modern submarines, all that will be wasted because the defense procurement bureaucrats seem to have learned nothing. These officials already caused numerous delays and cost overruns during negotiations to build these diesel-electric submarines. The bureaucrats mismanaged this deal to the extent that it is now three years behind schedule. But it is even more behind schedule if you count the several years the Indian bureaucrats delayed it even getting started. The delays and mismanagement have so far increased the cost of the $4 billion project by 25 percent. The original plan was to have the first Indian built Scorpene delivered at the end of this year. But now, because of problems getting the construction facilities and skilled workmen ready, the first Scorpene won't be delivered until 2015, with one each year after that until all six are delivered. That schedule is subject to change, and probably will, for the worse.

All this ineffective urgency is in play because India's submarine fleet is dying of old age and new boats are not going to arrive in time. It's not like this was a surprise, but the Indian defense procurement bureaucracy has long been noted as slow, sloppy, and stubborn, especially in the face of demands that it speed up. The twisted tale of the tardy submarines is particularly painful.

The plan was to have a dozen new subs in service by the end of the decade. At present, there will be (with a bit of luck) six of them in service by then. The procurement bureaucracy is still seeking a supplier for the second six diesel-electric subs. This second six subs might begin arriving by the end of the decade. It's hard to say, although the defense procurement nabobs speak of "fast tracking" this project, but long-time observers of these officials are not expecting speed.

There's some urgency to all this because this year, five of India's 16 diesel-electric subs (10 Kilo and two Foxtrot class Russian built boats and four German Type 209s) were to be retired (some are already semi-retired because of age and infirmity). Because of the Scorpene delays, the Type 209s are being kept in service (but not allowed out to sea much) for several more years. That leaves India with 14 subs. But in the next year or so several of the older Kilos will reach retirement age. Thus, by the time the first Scorpene arrives in 2015, India will only have five or six working subs. India believes it needs at least 18 non-nuclear subs in service to deal with Pakistan and China.

India is also building and buying nuclear subs. India received a Russian Akula nuclear attack (SSN) sub earlier this year. This one is on lease with the option to buy. Indian SSNs and SSBNs (missile carrying boats) are under development, as they have been for decades.

After the bureaucrats and politicians dithered for nearly a decade, in 2005, India finally signed a deal to buy six French Scorpene class boats. The delays led to the French increasing prices on some key components and India has had some problems in getting production going on their end. The first Scorpene was to be built in France, with the other five built in India. While some problems were expected (India has been doing license manufacturing of complex weapons for decades), the defense ministry procurement bureaucrats never ceased to amaze when it came to delaying work or just getting in the way.

The Scorpenes are similar to the Agosta 90B subs (also French) that Pakistan recently bought. The first of the Agostas was built in France, but the other two were built in Pakistan. The Scorpenes purchase was seen as a response to the Pakistani Agostas. The Scorpene are a more recent design, the result of cooperation between French and Spanish sub builders. The Agosta is a 1,500 ton (surface displacement) diesel-electric sub with a 36 man crew and four 533mm (21 inch) torpedo tubes (with 20 torpedoes and/or anti-ship missiles carried). The Scorpene is a little heavier (1,700 tons), has a smaller crew (32), and is a little faster. It has six 533mm torpedo tubes and carries 18 torpedoes and/or missiles. Both models can be equipped with an AIP (air independent propulsion) system. This enables the sub to stay under longer, thus making the sub harder to find. AIP allows the sub to travel under water for more than a week, at low speed (5-10 kilometers an hour). The Pakistanis have an option to retrofit AIP in their current two Agostas.

While India was largely concerned with the Pakistani navy when the Scorpene contract was negotiated and signed, China is now seen as the primary adversary. The Chinese subs are not as effective as the Pakistani boats, both because of less advanced technology and less well trained crews. India could use their Scorpenes to confront any Chinese attempt to expand their naval presence into the Indian Ocean. Thus the delays and cost overruns with the Scorpenes are causing quite a lot of commotion in India. But at the rate India is going, it will be nearly a decade before all six of the Scorpenes are in service. At that point, India would have about a dozen subs (including nuclear powered models under construction). China will have over 60 boats, about 20 percent of them nuclear. China does have a lot for its warships to deal with off its coasts and in the Western Pacific but it does retain the capability of putting more subs off the Indian coast than can the Indian Navy.