Military Might : Scorpene Class Submarine Vela Launched
The underwater Might of the Indian Navy is set to receive a boost with the launch of INS Vela, a Scorpene class submarine.
The INS Vela is the fourth of the six submarines of Scorpene class that has completed its out fittings at Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) Mumbai.
Vagir and Vagsheer are the remaining two submarines in the country's Scorpene Submarine programme are in the advanced stages of manufacturing at MDL.
A contract was signed in 2005, between French DCNS, and Mazgaon Dock Limited under Indian Navy's Project-75 for the supply of six submarines.
The submarine has been named 'Vela' after an earlier submarine, which was the lead submarine, of the erstwhile Vela class, the second batch of the Foxtrot class submarines acquired from USSR.
The fifth Scorpene class submarine will also be launched soon. MDL recently reported an annual turnover of Rs 4,500 crore.
The out fittings were completed under a 2005 contract signed with France's DCNS — now rebranded as the Naval Group — as part of Indian Navy's Project-75.
The first submarine was scheduled to be delivered by 2012, but the project witnessed repeated delays.
Of the six submarines, INS Kalvari was commissioned in December last year while INS Khanderi and INS Karanj are in advanced stages to join the Navy fleet.
Military Might : Scorpene Class Submarine Vela Launched Reviewed by Roshan Kumar on May 06, 2019 Rating: 5