On Friday, India simultaneously deployed 11 conventional submarines for operations, a first for the Indian Navy in thirty years.
This deployment stands in sharp contrast to the last 20 years of submarine history, during which the arm has experienced write-offs, accidents, and declining strength.
An Indian Navy officer informed the media that this was mostly because the fleet strength was impacted by numerous submarines undergoing refits or maintenance, and we did not have a large number of submarines in operation.
“It is undoubtedly a significant turning point for us. I have not witnessed such a high rate of simultaneous deployment since I entered the Indian Navy,” the official said.
The Indian submarine fleet last saw its pinnacle of strength in the early 1990s, when it possessed eight Kilo-class submarines, four HDWs, and four Russian-origin Foxtrots, according to defense establishment officials. The submarine arm of the Indian Navy has been severely depleted since then.
According to another official, there was even a delay in the delivery of the Scorpene submarines.
At the moment, India is home to sixteen conventional submarines, comprising four German HDWs, seven Russian Kilo-class, and five French Scorpene class vessels. There is still one Scorpene class that needs to be commissioned.
Sources noted that although India will finally deploy 17 conventional submarines next year, this will just be on paper.
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The availability of operations is what matters. The Scorpene submarines have a substantially greater availability ratio because they are brand-new. The German HDWs, which are still the most dependable and perform well, come next. As for the problems the Indian Navy still has with its fleet of submarines, the second official explained, “These submarines will last us another 10-15 years.”
The officer went on to say that the Indian Navy currently only possesses seven Kilo-class submarines, down from its original ten.
Although they have a low availability ratio, the Kilos are excellent. Although they have been upgraded, they won’t be as durable as the HDWs. This is due to the fact that one of them has already been retired and the majority were put into service in the 1980s. After being remodeled, the second one was donated to Myanmar. The third was truly brand-new, but we misplaced it in an accident in 2013, the official stated.
This implies that there will be turbulence in the submarine arm going forward.
According to sources, India is planning to purchase three more Scorpene-class submarines, albeit the actual contract signing and delivery may take some time.
