India deploys 11 submarines, a first in nearly three decades

This deployment by the Indian Navy Friday is a stark contrast to the submarine history of the last two decades that has seen the arm hit by dwindling strength, accidents and write-offs.

A Scorpene class submarine of the Indian Navy | Photo courtesy: Naval Group

New Delhi: Marking a significant milestone for the Navy in three decades, India Friday simultaneously deployed 11 conventional submarines for operations, ThePrint has learnt.

This deployment starkly contrasts the submarine history of the last two decades, which has seen the arm hit by dwindling strength, accidents and write-offs.

“It is indeed an important milestone for us. Since I joined the Navy, I have not seen such a high simultaneous deployment. This was basically because we did not have that many submarines in operations, and the fleet strength was hit by several undergoing refits or repairs,” a source, who has completed over 25 years of service, told ThePrint. 

Sources in the defence establishment said that the last time the Indian submarine arm was at its highest strength was in the early 90s when the Navy had 8 Kilo-class submarines, four HDWs and four Foxtrot of Russian origin. 

“Since then, the submarine’s arm has really been hit. Even the delivery of the Scorpene submarines was delayed,” another source said.

Currently, India operates 16 conventional submarines, including five Scorpene class (French), four HDWs (German) and seven Kilo-class (Russian). An additional Scorpene class is still to be commissioned. 

While India will eventually operate 17 conventional submarines next year, sources pointed out that this would only be on paper.

“What is important is operational availability. The Scorpene submarines are brand new, hence, their availability ratio is much higher. Next comes the German HDWs, which continue to be the most reliable and high on performance. These submarines will last us another 10-15 years,” the second source said, explaining the issues that the Navy continues to face with its submarine fleet.

The source added that, while India had 10 Kilo-class submarines initially, it is now left with only seven.

“The Kilos are very good but their availability ratio is down. They have undergone upgrades but will not be able to last as long as the HDWs. This is because most of them were commissioned in the 1980s and one of them has already been decommissioned. The second one was refitted and given to Myanmar. The third was actually new, but we lost it in 2013 in an accident,” the source said.

 This means that the submarine arm will continue to face turbulence.

India is going in for an additional three Scorpene-class submarines, sources said, adding that this will take time for the actual signing of contracts and delivery.

The Navy’s proposal to acquire six more advanced submarines with better technology has already been delayed by over a decade, and the likelihood of the first being delivered by 2030 is slim, sources told ThePrint. 

(Edited by Richa Mishra)