New Delhi: The Indian Navy got its fourth Scorpene submarine, which will be commissioned as INS Vela, of Project P-75 on Tuesday.
Vela, launched on May 6, 2019, completed all major harbour and sea trials including weapon and sensor trials despite COVID restrictions, said the Ministry of Defence in a statement issued on Tuesday.
Project – 75 includes the construction of six submarines of Scorpene design. Three of these submarines- Kalvari, Khanderi, Karanj- are already in commission with the Indian Navy, the ministry said. All these submarines are being constructed at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), Mumbai.
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The Ministry further said that the construction of these submarines in an Indian yard is yet another step towards ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’. The submarine would soon be commissioned into the Indian Navy and enhance the Indian Navy's capability, it said.
The acceptance document was signed by Vice Admiral (Retd) Narayan Prasad, Chairman & Managing Director of Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, and Rear Admiral KP Arvindan, Chief Staff Officer (Tech) of Western Naval Command, said MDL in a statement.
The fifth submarine, Vagir, launched on November 12, 2020, has commenced her harbour trials and is expected to go for maiden surface sortie on Dec 21. The sixth submarine is presently in the advanced stage of outfitting, MDL said.
