INS Kalvari to hit waters in September

Kalvari, Indian Navy's first indigenous Scorpene-class stealth submarine, will hit the waters again in September for its final phase of sea trials ahead of its planned induction by the end of this year.
•    The 66-metre-long INS Kalvari is part of an over USD 3.5 billion contract signed by the defense ministry with French firm DCNS in October 2005 to jointly develop six submarines.
•    Under Project 75 of the Indian Navy, the submarines are being built at the MDL dockyard in Mumbai under license from DCNS.
•    However, sources indicate that the AIP technology might be delayed.
•    Interestingly, the submarines still do not have its main weapon -- the heavy weight torpedos.
•    The original torpedo selected for the submarine was the one manufactured by one of the subsidiaries of scam-tainted firm Finmeccanica.
•    The government has decided to withdraw the tender for the heavy weight torpedos and go in for an alternative.
•    Once INS Kalvari is handed over to the Navy, the plan is to have other five inducted every nine months.
•    Construction of the first submarine started on 23 May 2009. The project is running four years behind schedule.