Navy hoped to finalise contract before 31 March this year, it is learnt. The additional Scorpenes are expected to be larger, more capable in terms of endurance & firepower than existing 6.
The new submarines will see certain design changes and will be similar to the one being supplied to Brazilian Navy. This also makes the 3 slightly larger than the previous 6.
Vagsheer, the 6th & last Scorpene-class submarine, was ordered in 2005 & launched in April 2022. The guided missile Nilgiri-class frigate will be the first of 7 new stealth frigates.
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.
INS Vagir has sailed continuously since its deployment in June except for one port stop in Sri Lanka, resurfacing every 3-4 days to recharge its batteries for a few hours.
The 3 new submarines are being built by the Mazagon Dock Ltd Shipyard in Mumbai, in partnership with France's Naval Group. They are designed for hunting down enemy submarines & surface ships.
India has a 30-year plan that ends in 2030, to induct 24 submarines including 18 diesel-electric and six nuclear-powered SSNs. Only 6 conventional submarines have been made so far.
Rajnath Singh-led Defence Acquisition Council cleared proposals for procurement of the fighter aircraft and submarines just after PM left for his official visit to France, it is learnt.
The immediate benefit of Single Tax would be to reduce the sale prices of land to nominal ones. Landowners would no longer find it profitable to keep idle lands, wrote DM Kulkarni in 1960.
It is argued that India-Israel ties are moving from buyer–seller dynamic to one focused on joint development & manufacturing partnership, a shift 'more durable' than traditional arms sales.
If Pathaan gave both conservatives and liberals room to hide, Dhurandhar extends no such courtesy. Aditya Dhar ripped open that tent of hypocrisy and turned the knife.
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