Submarines: India
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India's submarine fleet
The Times of India 2013/08/
I
India has just seven to eight aging conventional submarines
India can now boast of just 8 aging conventional subs
Pak Has 5 New Ones, May Get 6 More; China’s Leagues Ahead
Rajat Pandit |TNN
Times of India 2013/08/20
New Delhi: If India goes to war today, it will have just seven to eight aging conventional submarines to deploy against enemy forces. This deeply blunts the country’s underwater combat edge against Pakistan, which already has five relatively new conventional submarines and is angling to get six more advanced vessels from China. Beijing, of course, is leagues ahead with 47 dieselelectric submarines and eight nuclear-powered ones.
The INS Sindhurakshak disaster last week, which blew a big hole in the Indian Navy’s operational capabilities, has further compounded the problems. Defence minister A K Antony admitted in Parliament on Monday that “extensive checks on weapon-related safety systems and audit of standard operating procedures (SOPs) on all operational submarines have been ordered’’.
The minister also confirmed the “explosion” on board INS Sindhurakshak was due to the “possible ignition of armament’’ in the vessel’s forward section. TOI had last week reported that “inadvertent mishandling of ammunition’’ on the submarine, which was all set to leave on an extended patrol with a full weapons load of 18 cruise missiles and torpedoes, had emerged as the most probable reason behind the sinking of the over 2,500-tonne submarine.
“The cause of ignition is, however, yet to be established. Visual and forensic examination would throw more light on the possible cause of ignition. This will be possible only after the submarine is afloat and de-watered,’’ said Antony.
The minister, however, did not dwell upon the fact that the Navy is left with only 13 aging diesel-electric submarines — 11 of them over 20 years old — due to political and bureaucratic apathy in pushing long-delayed submarine construction projects under his watch.
Four of the 13 submarines — nine Kilo-class of Russian origin and four HDW of German-origin — are undergoing “a long refit’’ to extend theiroperational lives. “Two kiloclass or Sindhugosh series submarines are at Hindustan Shipyard Ltd at Visakhapatnam, while two HDW or Shishumar-class vessels are at the Mumbai naval dockyard for the long refits,’’ said a source.
The Navy does have one nuclear-powered submarine INS Chakra, taken on a 10-year lease from Russia last year, but it’s not armed with nuclear-tipped missiles due to international treaties. INS Chakra can serve as a deadly ‘hunter-killer’ of enemy submarines and warships with its 300-km range Klub-S landattack cruise missiles as well as other missiles and advanced torpedoes.
Pakistan Navy, incidentally, is the first force in the Indian Ocean region to have submarines equipped with air-independent propulsion (AIP) in the shape of three French Agosta-90B vessels.
An ageing submarine fleet
The Times of India 2013/08/15 Aging subs going the MiG-21 way? Rajat Pandit | DEFENCE EDITOR
The Navy was to induct 12 new diesel-electric submarines by 2012, with another dozen to follow in the 2012-2030 timeframe. This was the 30-year submarine building plan approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) way back in July 1999. But the Navy has not inducted even one of the 24 planned submarines till now, and is forced to soldier on with just 14 aging conventional vessels.
Sources said INS Sindhurakshak, after the Aug 2013 accident, is “a clear write-off ’’. Of the 13 submarines left now, as many as 11 are over 20 years old. The setback comes when China and Pakistan are systematically bolstering their underwater combat capabilities, with the former being armed with over 55 submarines.
‘Aging underwater arm a worry’
The navy is steadily modernizing in the surface warship and aircraft arenas. But our aging and depleting underwater combat arm is a big worry. But it also must be kept in mind that INS Sindhurakshak’s accident is the first such incident we have had in over four decades of operating submarines,’’ said a senior officer.
India’s four German HDW or Shishumar-class submarines were inducted between 1986 and 1994, while eight of the 10 Russian Kilo or Sindhugosh-class vessels were inducted between 1986 and 1991. The last two Russian submarines — INS Sindhurakshak and INS Sindhushastra —were inducted in 1997 and 2000, respectively.
Even CAG reports have alarmingly held that the operational availability of the Indian submarines is as low as 48% due to the aging fleet and prolonged refit and life-extension programmes. With the design life of a submarine being 25-30 years, projections show just six-seven of the existing submarines will be fully operational by 2020.
Successive governments’ sheer inability to take decisions in time and gross project mismanagement — with inevitable huge cost escalations — has led to this dismal situation. The first of the six new Scorpene submarines being built at Mazagon Docks will be ready only by 2016-17 at the earliest, over four years behind schedule. The other five — under this Rs 23,000 crore programme called “Project-75” — are scheduled to progressively follow by 2020-21.
The next six of the remaining 18 submarines are yet to be even ordered. Despite being granted “acceptance of necessity” in November 2007, “Project-75India” to construct six advanced stealth submarines, armed with both land-attack missile capabilities and airindependent propulsion for greater underwater endurance, is still stuck in political apathy and red-tape.
Another critical concern is that the navy has rudimentary submarine rescue facilities. The force’s endeavour to procure two deep-submergence rescue vessels (DSRVs) or “mini submarines”, which “mate” with disabled submarines underwater to rescue trapped sailors from depths up to 610 metres, has been stuck for over 15 years.
The navy does have diving support ships like INS Nireekshak to help in such situations, but they are useful at relatively shallow depths.
SUB FLEET IN BAD SHAPE
By 2013, 63% of India’s subs eligible to be retired: CAG
11 of 13 remaining subs are over 20 years old. A sub is expected to have a life of about 25 years
Project of building six Scorpene subs already 4 years late
Building of 6 stealth subs yet to take off. It will take over 10 years for the first to roll out
Not even 1 new sub inducted despite 1999 plan of 12 new subs by 2012, another 12 by 2030
Even if some Scorpene subs are commissioned by 2020, India will be short of minimum 18 needed
INS SINDHURAKSHAK
Explosions within the ill-fated submarine led to its sinking in August 2013
1997 | Indian navy inducts INS Sindhurakshak, one of 10 in Kiloclass submarines bought from Russia between 1986 & 2000
February 2010 | Fire in its battery compartment kills one sailor
August 2010 | Submarine goes for re-fit to Russia’s Zvezdochka dock. Is equipped with cruise missile systems
Jan 2013 | Refit completed
April 27, 2013 | Sub reaches India
August 14, 2013 | Sub sinks following massive explosion and fire with [18] and officers trapped inside
The submarine had suffered two explosions in 2010 in which one sailor was killed and two others injured. The 2010 accident was caused by rising hydrogen levels while its batteries were being recharged. The Navy chief said on 14 Aug 2013 that the sub’s batteries had been charged three days before.
The $113m submarine had been upgraded at a cost of $156m
Sunken sub refit cost $156m
Sindhurakshak’s Upgrade Costlier Than Original Price Of $113m
Rajat Pandit TNN
The Times of India 2013/08/15
New Delhi: The refit expenditure on INS Sindhurakshak was much more than its original procurement cost. When it was inducted in December 1997, the ninth of 10 Kilo-class submarines to be inducted by the navy, INS Sindhurakshak cost $113 million.
The “mid-life medium refit-cum-upgrade” of the 3,000-tonne vessel, carried out between September 2010 and January 2013 at Severodvinsk in Russia, came at a price tag of $156 million. The submarine finally reached India on April 27 2013 after a long journey following the refit and sea-acceptance trials. Since then, it had also undergone certification by naval inspection authorities of the Western Naval Command.
Sources said the refit included integrating the Klub-S land-attack missile complex onto the submarine, basically upgrading the vessel from only being capable of firing torpedoes to also possessing the ability to fire missiles from the six tubes fitted on to the “boat’s nose”. The cruise missile, which has a strike range of almost 300-km, was supposed to be the deadly 3M-14E land-attack variant.
“Then, the Sonar USHUS, a CCS Mark-II communication suite, air-conditioning plants in the machinery and control rooms, among other things, were also fitted onto the submarine. Now, all that is sunk,” said a source.
Of the 10 Kilo-class submarines, only the last one, the INS Sindhushastra, had come with the “tube-launched missile capability” in July, 2000. The others, like INS Sindhuvijay, INS Sindhuratna, INS Sindhuvir and INS Sindhugosh, too, have been refitted with the Klub-S missiles in Russia over the last several years to make them “even more potent underwater weapons”.
There have been glitches during the upgrade programme. India, for instance, had earlier refused to take delivery of INS Sindhuvijay after the allimportant Klub-S missiles had failed to work in six consecutive test firings at the Barents Sea test range in September-November 2007.
INS Sindhurakshak, in particular, has also had its share of problems. On February 26, 2010 one sailor had been killed and another two injured during an explosion in the battery pit of the submarine at Vizag when its batteries were being re-charged. “The accident was due to high concentration of hydrogen gas in the third compartment of the battery,” said the source.
India’s Submarine strength: 2017
From The Times of India
Nuclear submarine
2014: INS Arihant's maiden sea trials
India's 1st nuclear-submarine gears up for maiden sea trials at Vizag
Rajat Pandit, December 15, 2014
INS Arihant
India's first indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant is now finally all set to make its maiden foray into the wide open sea. The 6,000-tonne vessel, with an 83 MW pressurized light-water reactor at its core for propulsion, is slated to begin its sea trials off Visakhapatnam within the next few days. INS Arihant, or the “annihilator of enemies, and its two under-construction follow-on vessels are the critical missing link in the country's longstanding pursuit to have an operational nuclear weapons triad -the capability to fire nukes from land, air and sea.
While the Agni ballistic missiles and fighter-bombers constitute the first two legs, the triad's missing underwater leg has for long troubled the country's strategic establishment. Nuclear-powered submarines armed with nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles (SSBNs), after all, are considered the triad's most difficult to-detect and effective leg. There is also growing concern over China stepping-up its submarine activity in the Indian Ocean.
The much-awaited mile stone on the INS Arihant front comes just a fortnight after Navy chief Admiral Robin Dhowan said it would “very soon” head for sea trials. “The submarine's miniaturized reactor, which went critical in August 2013, has now attained 100% power. The power had to be slowly stepped up, just 510% at a time, with systematic pressure and other checks on all pipelines and machinery being conducted every time,” said a source.
Fingers are now being kept crossed that there are no major hiccups during INS Arihant's sea-acceptance trials (SATs), which can take around 18 months, after the long-drawn harbour-acceptance trials (HATs) at the shipbuilding centre at Vizag. The submarine will first undertake several surface sorties before it dives for a full range of underwater sorties. The SATs will also include test-firing of its K-15 ballistic missiles (750-km range), which has so far been tested only from submersible pontoons around a dozen times.
2016: INS Arihant commissioned, not ready for deployment
The Times of India
The Times of India
Arihant `not yet fully ready' for deployment, Oct 18 2016 : The Times of India
Indigenous Sub Commissioned, 2 More On Anvil
India is finally close to operationalising its long-awaited nuclear weapons triad -the capability to launch nukes from land, air and sea. Although the landbased Agni ballistic missiles as well as fighter bombers configured to deliver nuclear weapons have been available for a while, the triad's missing -and most potent -sea leg has been a big operational gap till now.
Sources said in Oct 2016 that the country's first indigenously-constructed nuclear submarine INS Arihant (which means annihilator of enemies), propelled by an 83 MW pressurised light-water reactor at its core, was commissioned into service in August after extensive sea trials since December 2014.
INS Arihant's 750km and 3,500km missiles may be somewhat dwarfed by SLBMs (submarine-launched ballistic missiles) with ranges of well over 5,000km with the US, Russia and China, but the completion of the nuclear-tri ad is critical for a country like India, which has a clearly declared policy of “no first-use“ of nuclear weapons. It makes its second-strike capability much more credible.
A pre-emptive enemy strike can conceivably take out a rival's nuclear missiles and fighter bombers. That is why an SSBN, capable of lurking underwater for months without being detected, is considered the most effective and deadly platform for a retaliatory nuclear strike. The 6,000-tonne Arihant is, however, “not yet fully ready“ to be deployed for “deterrent patrols“ with nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles in its four silos, said the sources. Both the defence ministry as well as the Navy refused to say anything on the matter, holding that it was “a strategic project“ directly controlled by the PMO.
INS Arihant has undergone a whole host of surface and “dived“ sorties during its trials to prove its sea-worthiness. But the full weapons integration with the “K“ (named after former president APJ Abdul Kalam) series of SLBMs will take some more time. While the K-15 SLBM has a 750-km range, the K-4 can go up to 3,500-km.
INS Arihant is the first of three such SSBNs (nuclearpowered submarines with long-range nuclear ballistic missiles) being constructed under the secretive ATV (advanced technology vessel) programme launched decades ago. The construction of the second one, INS Aridhaman, is also almost complete now, with its delivery slated for 2018.
Apart from both Pakistan and China having largely ambiguous nuclear weapons policies, the growing pres ence of Chinese nuclear submarines in the Indian Ocean region has become a major source of concern for the Indian security establishment over the last couple of years.
INS Kalvari (diesel-electric Scorpene)
May 2016: trial runs
The Times of India, May 2, 2016
India's first new conventional submarine in 16 years finally began its sea trials off Mumbai on Sunday giving much-needed fillip to the Navy , which is battling to retain its underwater combat edge over Pakistan, even while being confronted with Chinese submarines popping up all over the Indian Ocean. But the diesel-electric Scorpene submarine --to be commissioned as INS Kalvari (tiger shark) by 2016-end -is like an underwater predator without teeth, a gun without bullets, as of now. The induction of its “primary weapons“, heavy-weight torpedoes, remains enmeshed in the still-exploding VIP helicopter scam. The Rs 1,800 crore-acquisition of `Black Shark' torpedoes from Italian conglomerate Finmeccanica's subsidiary Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquel to arm the six French-origin Scorpene submarines being constructed at Mazagon Docks has been hanging fire for several years. First, the acquisition project was put on hold after German Atlas Elektronik Gmbh complained of “irregularities“ in the selection process after the Black Shark torpedo was chosen over its Seahake torpedo. Then, after a special technical oversight committee gave it the go-ahe ad, the VIP helicopter scam erupted to derail the process once again, as earlier reported by TOI.
In effect, INS Kalvari will be inducted with tube-launched SM-39 Exocet anti-ship missiles but its main weapon to maintain stealth will be missing. The Rs 23,652 crore Scor pene project, with contracts being inked way back in October 2005, has faced huge time and cost overruns. The first Scorpene, for instance, was to be ready by 2012, with the other five coming by 2017.
“INS Kalvari commissioned by December 2016, with the other five following at nine-month intervals till 2020. Its first surface sea sortie will be followed by a barrage of dive, noise and weapons trials. But the trials will have to be halted during the JuneJuly monsoons due to choppy waters,“ said an official.
The Navy , meanwhile, is down to just 13 ageing conventional submarines, nine of them of Russian-origin Sindhughosh-class and four German or Shishumar-class.While a submarine's prescribed design life is 25 years, 10 of them have already crossed that mark.
Incidentally, it was the Vajpayee-led NDA government that in July 1999 had approved a 30-year submarine building plan for induction of 24 submarines in a phased manner.
Moreover, the tender for the long-delayed Project-75India for six new-generation stealth submarines, with both land-attack missile capabilities and air-independent propulsion for greater underwater endurance, is yet to be even floated. When P-75I was accorded “acceptance of necessity“ in November 2007, its estimated cost was around Rs 50,000 crore. Now, it will cost much more.
INS Sindhuratna
Jan 31 2015
Sindhuratna captain to face court martial
Rajat Pandit
The captain of INS Sindhuratna will now face a general court martial (GCM) for the mishap on board his Kilo-class submarine, which killed two officers, injured several sailors and proved to be the final trigger for Admiral D K Joshi to resign as Navy chief in February, 2014.
While Commander Sandeep Sinha will undergo disciplinary action in the GCM, six other officers have been awarded “severe displeasure“ -a black-mark in their records preventing any promotion, foreign posting, course and the like for them for two years.
The Commodore Commanding Submarines of Western Naval Command, S R Kapoor, and two of his officers are among the six to face the administrative action.They were on board INS Sindhuratna for “Task-II trials“ to clear the 26-year-old submarine for operational deployment -after a refit for Rs 200 crore at Mumbai naval dockyard -when disaster struck on February 26. The probe showed a cable fire over the battery pit in the submarine's third compartment led to the thick toxic smoke on board the vessel, as was first reported by TOI.
Around 40 officers are in the dock -most of them facing GCMs -for the string of warship mishaps in just the last couple of years. Defence minister Manohar Parrikar also wants accountability to be firmly fixed for submarine INS Sindhurakshak's sinking at the Mumbai dockyard after internal explosions in August 2013, which killed three officers and 15 sailors. But the Navy is yet to finalize the inquiry report into this mishap.
The INS Sindhuratna case bring outs how several factors are increasingly coming together to create a crisis in the blue-water force, tasked with guarding India's huge strategic interests in the region stretching from the Persian Gulf to the Malacca Strait. Politico-bureaucratic apathy in clearing new projects and emergency purchases, for instance, is making the Navy flog ageing warships well beyond their operational lives. Submarines, for instance, have a design life of only 25 years.
