Indian Navy gets major boost, Submarine INS Vagir gets commissioned

Mumbai: In a boost to Indian Navy's fire power, INS Vagir, the fifth submarine of the Kalvari Class submarines, was commissioned into the service today. INS Vagir is built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders with the help of technology transfer from France's Naval Group.

The submarine is built under Project-75, which includes the indigenous construction of six submarines of Scorpene design. Four of the Kalvari class of submarines have already been commissioned into the Indian Navy.

The erstwhile 'Vagir' has a glorious past as the submarine with the same name was commissioned in November 1973. It was decommissioned in January 2001 after serving the nation for about three decades.


Launched and named 'Vagir' on November 12, 2020, the submarine in its new avatar has the distinction of having the lowest build time among all indigenously manufactured submarines to date.

"The submarine will boost the Indian Navy's capability to further India's maritime interests in deterring the enemy, and conducting Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) to provide decisive blow in the times of crisis," the Navy said.

'Vagir' means sand shark, which represents stealth and fearlessness, two qualities synonymous with the ethos of a submariner, it said.

Equipped with some of the best sensors in the world, its weapons package include sufficient wire guided torpedoes and sub-surface to surface missiles to neutralise a large enemy fleet, the Navy said.

The submarine also has the capability of launching marine commandos for special operations, while its powerful diesel engines can quickly charge batteries for a stealth mission, the Navy added.

For self defence, it has a state of the art torpedo decoy system, the Navy release added.

The commissioning of INS Vagir comes amid the increasing presence of the Chinese Navy in the Indian Ocean.

(Inputs from PTI)