Kilo class INS Sindhudhvaj submarine decommissioned
Recently, the Indian Navy decommissioned the ‘Kilo class submarine’ INS Sindhudhvaj from service in Visakhapatnam after being in service for 35 years.
There are only 15 conventional submarines currently in service with the Navy.
Salient Features of INS Sindhudhvaj:
- INS Sindhudhvaj was commissioned into the Indian Navy in June 1987.
- It was one of the 10 ‘kilo class submarines’ that India had bought from Russia (including the former Soviet Union) between 1986 and 2000.
Successful operations-
- It was through this that the indigenous sonar USHUS, indigenous satellite communication system Rukmani and MSS, inertial navigation system and indigenous torpedo fire control system were operationalised.
- Sindhudhvaj had also achieved success in the work of Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel and Personnel Transfer.
- It was the first submarine to be awarded the Rolling Trophy for Innovation by the Prime Minister.
Current Fleet:
- The Indian Navy’s fleet currently consists of 7 Russian ‘Kilo class submarines’, 4 German HDW submarines, 4 ‘French Scorpene submarines’ and the indigenous nuclear ballistic missile submarine INS Arihant.
- With this the last two submarines of the Scorpene class are in various stages of testing and outfitting.
Under Project-75I, 6 advanced submarines are being built. Project-75I envisages indigenous construction of submarines equipped with state-of-the-art Air Independent Propulsion Systems at an estimated cost of Rs 43,000 crore.
Source – The Hindu
