Sensitive data on India's Scorpene submarines leaked

NEW DELHI: Alarm bells are ringing in South Block after reports in Australia that the entire design plans that reveal the capability of India's Scorpene submarine fleet have been leaked, with the Indian Navy and Defence ministry saying that they are seized of the matter.

A statement by the ministry is likely to be issued shortly as experts are studying the implications of a report on The Australian that the design plans were leaked apparently from French manufacturer DCNS that is the designer of the system.

According to the report, over 22000 pages of plans have been leaked, apparently in 2011 by a DCNS official and have thrown questions on the French company's ability to hold secret documents. Australia has recently awarded a multi billion dollar contract for 12 conventional submarines to DCNS, beating Japanese and German competitors.

According to an initial estimate by Indian officials who have seen a few of the leaked documents, the issue is very serious as all sensitive plans, including the all important stealth and enemy detection systems have been compromised.

The Indian Scorpene contract has been in the making since 2004, with the first of the six submarines being made at the MDL yard in Mumbai set to be inducted by October. The program has gone through several delays and controversies. It also figured in the 2006 naval war room leaks case with the allegation that plans for the Scorpene submarine were leaked.