Submarine Vagsheer and its features, capabilities

Context

Vagsheer, the sixth submarine of the P75 project of the Indian Navy was launched recently.

About

About Submarine ‘Vagsheer’:

Vagsheer is named after the sand fish, a deep sea predator of the Indian Ocean.
The first submarine Vagsheer, from Russia, was commissioned into the Indian Navy on December 26, 1974, and was decommissioned on April 30, 1997.
The new Vagsheer will be officially named at the time of its commissioning.
Specifications:
Vagsheer can take up to eight officers and 35 men.
It is 67.5 metres long and 12.3 metres high, with a beam measuring 6.2 metres.
Vagsheer can reach top speed of 20 knots when submerged and a top speed of 11 knots when it surfaces.
The hull, fin and hydroplanes are designed for minimum underwater resistance and all equipment inside the pressure hull is mounted on shock-absorbing cradles for enhanced stealth.
Features:
Vagsheer is a diesel attack submarine, designed to perform sea denial as well as access denial warfare against the adversary.
It can do offensive operations across the spectrum of naval warfare including anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying and area surveillance.
It is enabled with a C303 anti-torpedo counter measure system.
It can carry up to 18 torpedoes or Exocet anti-ship missiles, or 30 mines in place of torpedoes.
Its superior stealth features include advanced acoustic absorption techniques, low radiated noise levels, hydro-dynamically optimised shape, and it has the ability to launch a crippling attack using precision guided weapons, underwater or on surface.
Scorpene submarines can undertake various types of missions such as anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying, area surveillance etc.

List of other submarines under Scorpene-class submarines:

First submarine: INS Kalvari- commissioned on 14 December 2017.
Second: INS Khanderi – September 2019
Third: INS Karanj – March 2021
Fourth: INS Vela – November 2021
Fifth: INS Vagir- launched in November 2020 and is undergoing sea trials.

Project 75 India (P-75I)

P75I was first cleared in 2007, but lay dormant until now after undergoing numerous changes.
The P75I project is part of a 30-year submarine building plan that ends in 2030.
The project cost is about Rs. 45,000 crore.
As part of this plan, India was to build 24 submarines — 18 conventional submarines and six nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs) — as an effective deterrent against China and Pakistan.
This project envisages the construction of six conventional submarines with better sensors and weapons and the Air Independent Propulsion System (AIP).
The project has been cleared under the strategic partnership model.
Under P75, INS Kalvari, INS Khanderi, INS Karanj and INS Vela have been commissioned. Sea trials are on for Vagir. Vagsheer is the sixth; its production was delayed due to the pandemic.

Scorpene Class Submarine:

These are diesel-electric attack submarines jointly developed by the French company - Naval Group (formerly Direction des Constructions Navales (DCNS)) and the Spanish company - Navantia.
These submarines can undertake multifarious tasks typically undertaken by any modern submarine which include anti-surface as well as anti-submarine warfare.
They feature diesel propulsion and additional Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP).
AIP is a marine propulsion technology that allows a non-nuclear submarine to operate without access to atmospheric oxygen (by surfacing or using a snorkel).
The system of AIP fitted in this class of submarines is a modified version of nuclear propulsion system with heat being generated by ethanol and oxygen.
The combustion of the ethanol and stored oxygen, at a pressure of 60 atm, generates steam which powers a conventional turbine power plant.