Context
The Navy’s Kilo-class submarine, INS Sindhudhvaj, was decommissioned from service at Visakhapatnam after 35 years in service.
About INS Sindhudhvaj
- INS SindhudhvajCommissioned into the Navy in June 1987.
- Sindhudhvaj, was one of the 10 Kilo-class submarines India acquired from Russia between 1986 and 2000.
What is a Kilo Class Submarine?
- The Kilo Class comprises imported submarines that are being retrofitted.
- The Soviet Navy designed the original Kilo-class tranche, also known as Project 877 submarines, in the early 1980s for anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare in shallow coastal waters.
- The Kilo-class is generally smaller than Russia’s massive ballistic missile submarines, so-called boomers. Since its inception, the Kilo-class has been steadily improved and is represented by three variants: Project 877, Project Project 636, and the latest Project 636.3.
History of India’s Kilo Class Submarines
- India acquired eight such subs between 1986 and 1991.
- It later acquired two more submarines from the Russian Federation, between 1998 and 2000.
- They were the navy’s first submarines that could fire anti-ship and land-attack cruise missiles from beneath the surface, making them a formidable force multiplier in the naval fleet.
- One unit, the INS Sindhurakshak, was lost in an accident in 2013 and a second, the Sindhuvir, was transferred to the Myanmar navy in 2020.
Why does India need them?
- One important capability which the Kilos provide India is their submarine-launched cruise missiles
- They are equipped with the Russian supplied 3M-14E Club-S missile which is roughly similar to the American Tomahawk.
- The Russian 3M-54E1 Klub-S submarine-launched cruise missile (SLCM) has an estimated 220-kilometre range against surface targets.
About Project 75 India
- P75I was first cleared in 2007, but lay dormant until now after undergoing numerous changes.
- The P75I project is part of a 30-year submarine building plan that ends in 2030.
- The project cost is about Rs. 45,000 crore.
- As part of this plan, India was to build 24 submarines — 18 conventional submarines and six nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs) — as an effective deterrent against China and Pakistan.
- This project envisages the construction of six conventional submarines with better sensors and weapons and the Air Independent Propulsion System (AIP).
- The project has been cleared under the strategic partnership model.
