It is the fifth of six Scorpene Class submarines are being built in India

Indian Navy’s fifth stealth Scorpene class Submarine INS Vagir was commissioned at the Naval Dockyard Mumbai on Monday.

The submarine, which has advanced stealth features and long range guided torpedoes as well as anti-ship missiles, will be part of the Western Naval Command.

Vagir is the third submarine inducted into the Indian Navy in a short span of 24 months and marks another major milestone for Indian Navy’s Project 75 and Make in India initiative, the Ministry of Defence said.

It is the fifth of six Scorpene Class submarines are being built in India by the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) Mumbai, under collaboration with M/s Naval Group, France.

The Scorpene submarines are extremely potent platforms, they have advanced stealth features and are also equipped with both long range guided torpedoes as well as anti-ship missiles. These submarine have a state of the art SONAR suite and sensor suite permitting outstanding operational capabilities.

Vagir was launched on 12 November 12, 2020 and was delivered to Indian Navy on December 20, 2022 post completion of sea trials, giving it the distinction of having the lowest build time among all indigenously manufactured submarines till date.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh stated that INS Vagir will give a significant fillip to the Indian Navy’s operational might and serve as a potent deterrent for any adversary.

Highlighting that Vagir is the third submarine inducted into the Navy in a short span of 24 months, he said, “This underscores the coming of age of India’s shipbuilding industry, and the maturing of our defence ecosystem. It is also a shining testimony to the expertise and experience of our shipyards to construct complex & complicated platforms and serves to reinforce Indian Navy’s unequivocal commitment and steadfast resolve to be a fully ‘AatmaNirbhar’ force by 2047”.

Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command VAdm AB Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, MDL VAdm Narayan Prasad (Retd) and other senior civil & military officials of Ministry of Defence were present during the commissioning ceremony.

The crew of the erstwhile ‘Vagir’, a Russian-origin Foxtrot Class Submarine which was decommissioned in 2001, were special invitees for the ceremony and the then commissioning Commanding Officer RAdm K Raja Menon (Retd) was also present.