5th Scorpene Submarine INS Vagir Launched

Indian Navy's fifth Scorpene submarine Vagir, having "superior stealth features" like the advanced acoustic absorption technique, was launched at the Mazagon Dock in south Mumbai on Thursday. INS Vagir is part of the six Kalvari-class submarines being built in India. The submarines, designed by French naval defence and energy company DCNS, are being built as part of Indian Navy's Project-75.These submarines can undertake missions like anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying, and area surveillance, an official said.

Vagir is named after the Sand Fish, a deadly deep sea predator of the Indian Ocean. The first Vagir, a submarine from Russia, was commissioned into the Indian Navy on December 3, 1973, and was decommissioned on June 7, 2001 after almost three decades of service to the nation. "Building the Scorpene was indeed a challenge for MDL, as the complexity of the simplest of tasks increased exponentially due to all work having to be done in the most congested of spaces," MDL said in a release.

"The state-of-art technology used in the submarine has ensured superior stealth features such as advanced acoustic absorption techniques, low radiated noise levels, and hydro- dynamically optimised shape and also the ability to attack the enemy using precision guided weapons," the release said.