This is the fourth of the six submarines the Indian Navy is to induct under the Kalvari-class submarine Project-75.
With the Indian Navy's requirement of conventional submarines standing at 24, there is critical need to expedite the planned acquisition of six more conventional submarines.
There were 35 defects that still remained to be resolved. Of these, 29 could not have been resolved during the monsoon since they required testing in absolutely calm seas. Nor is the Khanderi being commissioned with a full complement of its primary weapon, the torpedo.
Rahul Bedi explains how 'miscellaneous' factors have posed a major hurdle in negotiating the Rafale deal.
The Scorpene submarine does not have enough firepower; it will share 64 obsolescent SUT torpedoes till the Indian Navy is supplied with 100 heavyweight torpedoes -- a process that could take more than two years to complete
All the six diesel-electric attack submarines will be equipped with the anti-ship missile, which has a proven record in combat, the defence ministry said.
Kalvari is expected to enter service by September end.
Unlike conventional subs that must surface every 48 to 72 hours, these subs can stay submerged for up to 14 days.
The 66-metre-long INS Kalvari is part of an over $3.5 billion contract signed by the defence ministry with French firm DCNS in October 2005 to jointly develop six submarines.
How will the navy's six Scorpenes fight, when their primary weapon -- the Black Shark torpedo -- is blocked by a ministry of defence ban on the company chosen to supply these? This gloomy scenario provides a heaven-sent opportunity to revisit the navy's torpedo purchase plan, handled without strategic vision and economic foresight.
Calling for a rethink of its submarine building programme, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday said India should look for greater numbers than the existing plan of constructing 24 such vessels.
Insufficient technology has been transferred during the ongoing Project 75, which involves building 6 Scorpene-class submarines.
The ministry's year-end review is silent on the continued occupation by Chinese troops of territory that India has always claimed and patrolled.
Pakistan military authorities have committed to the release Indian soldier Chandu Chavan, who inadvertently strayed across the border last year, Union Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre said in Mumbai on Thursday.
Under-construction warship 'Visakhapatnam' caught fire at 5.44 pm. The blaze erupted on the second deck of the ship.
The prime minister walked a certain distance to greet people standing on both sides of the road outside the polling booth. Later, he stood on the foot-board of his car and waived to the crowd.
Hydrography (underwater geography) prevents the Indian Navy for opting for an all-conventional, or all-nuclear submarine fleet.
'The Raksha Mantri's day at sea'/
The French offer comes at a time when Indian Army is on the threshold of floating its biggest-ever global tenders for 2000-3000 wheeled, towed and tracked 155 mm guns of .52 calibre and 1000-2000 high speed mine protected troop carrying 4x4 and 8x8 specialised troop combat vehicles for forces operating against terrorists and Maoists.
'Despite frequent high-level interactions there has been little traction on substantive issues between India and France,' says Mohan Guruswamy.
A top navy official said the test-firing yielded desired results.
According to the PIL, the Government finalised the Rs 16,000 crore deal with French company, Thales, in October 2005. The petition alleged that there were middlemen involved in the deal which was against government's policy. It also alleged that four per cent kickbacks were paid in the deal and the government was trying to protect the middlemen who were influential people. The PIL referred to e-mail and telephonic conversations allegedly between Thales officials & officials.
India was continuously keeping an eye on the movement of the Pakistani military but after Indian Air Force hit the Jaish terrorist factory in Balakot, one of the most advanced Pakistani Agosta-class submarines - PNS Saad - vanished from the Pakistani waters, a senior government source said.
The government has cleared the indigenous construction of seven stealth frigates and six nuclear-powered submarines to bolster naval power.
The INS Chakra III will be ideal for 'sea denial' missions, in which the submarine denies the enemy the use of the sea.
The agreement would divert China's attention and keep them busy in the Pacific theatre, probably resulting in a reduction in threat perception in our area of interest in the Indian Ocean, notes Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
An ill-informed public narrative centres on expensive weapons platforms instead of the little things that would improve capability.
The contract, which analysts say could be worth $1.8 billion, involves the manufacture of six Scorpene SSK-class submarines at a naval dockyard in Mumbai.
'Amid the frequent cries that the defence budget falls short of what is needed, we tend to ignore the reality that any enhancement in the allocation is just not possible, and the armed forces have no option but to operate within this constraint.' 'So, unless deadwood -- especially manpower -- is identified and eliminated, we simply cannot have a modern military of the type that India needs,' says Vice Admiral Premvir Das (retd).
Suspense over the multi-billion dollar Rafale fighter plane deal continued on Friday as French Ambassador Francois Richier said a "complex negotiation" is going on, just two days ahead of the visit of his President Francois Hollande to India.
Defence projects worth a whopping Rs 80,000 crore were on Saturday cleared by the government which decided that six submarines will be made indigenously and over 8,000 Israeli anti-tank guided missiles and 12 upgraded Dornier surveillance aircraft will be purchased.
The new policy would also allow many of the stuck programmes, like the heavy weight torpedos for the six Scorpene submarines, to move ahead with clarity.
Military sources said the research ship Shi Yan 1 forayed into Indian waters in September but was forced to retreat after it was suspected to be involved in spying.
India's enemies be warned: The Rafale deal will bring a sea change in India's defence preparedness.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Varun Gandhi was at the centre of a controversy over allegations that he had leaked defence secrets to middleman Abhishek Verma and arms manufacturers after being "honey trapped", a charge he stoutly denied.
Russia -- already India's biggest arms supplier from 2014-18, accounting for 58 per cent of India's defence imports -- eyes more, reports Ajai Shukla.
Between 2008 and 2015, India purchased defence equipments worth $34 billion, which is a distant second after Saudi Arabia's $93.5 billion, said the report 'Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations 2008-2015' released by Congressional Research Service.
The new minister must commit himself to supporting long-term defence plans or else defence modernisation will continue to lag and the growing military capabilities gap with China will assume ominous proportions, warns Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
The defence ministry has lost sight of what it intended to achieve -- which was to nurture private defence firms that would compete on equal terms with the 9 defence PSUs and the 41 Ordnance Factory Board factories.
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