The Indian Navy on Wednesday launched ‘INS Karanj’, the third Scorpene class submarine built at Mumbai’s Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL). Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chief of the Naval Staff, was the chief guest on the occasion.

First of the Scorpene class submarines, INS Kalvari was commissioned in Mumbai last December. The second in the series of six submarine project, INS Khanderi was launched on January 12, 2017 and is was undergoing sea trials. It will be commissioned later this year. All the submarines are due to be inducted gradually into the Indian Navy by 2020.

The state-of-the-art features of the Scorpenes include superior stealth and ability to launch crippling attacks with precision-guided weapons. The submarine has an overall length of 67.5 metre and a height of about 12.3 metres. The hull form, fin and hydroplanes are specifically designed to produce minimum underwater resistance.

The submarines are being built in collaboration with French shipbuilding major Naval Group (formerly DCNS).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has last month commissioned the first of the six Scorpene-class submarine Kalvari into the Indian Navy and said its induction was a big step in the country’s defence preparedness.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had then said that submarine building is a sophisticated and exacting craft which very few countries possess in their industrial capacity