India’s diesel-electric INS Sindhuratna submarine will resume services from next March-April after the Russian Zvyozdochka shipyard completed the refit cum life certification of it, a Defense Ministry document has revealed.
Besides enhancing the combat potential of the underwater vessel, the service life of the submarine was also extended by ten years to 35 following the repairs and upgrades. Now, the submarine is fitted with a Klub (Kalibr) land attack cruise missile.
The Indian Navy has planned to bring the submarine from Zvyozdochka Shipyard in Severodvinsk to Mumbai by next March using a sealift vessel.
"Sea transportation of a kilo-class submarine from Severodvinsk, Russia, to Mumbai on a transport dock ship during the time period early Jan 23 to mid Feb 23," the navy document read.
The submarine will arrive at the Mumbai port via the Cape of Good Hope, a shipping route from the European coast of the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean passing through the southern tip of Africa. The navy said that the estimated transit time should not exceed 45 days.
INS Sindhuratna is one of four kilo-class boats selected for medium refit under a $700 million deal signed between Zvezdochka and the Indian Navy in 2018.
The repairs and upgrades of the INS Sindhuratna were completed amid the pandemic and the Ukrainian crisis.
The Indian Navy has seven kilo-class boats after it lost one, INS Sindhurakshak, to a massive explosion in the dock in August 2013 and decommissioned INS Sindhudhvaj in July this year.
Another submarine, INS Sindhuvir, was handed over to the Myanmar Navy in 2020 as part of a bilateral defense collaboration.
Besides the kilo-class submarines, the Indian Navy’s sub-surface fleet also includes four French Scorpene submarines, four German HDW submarines, and the indigenous nuclear ballistic missile submarine INS Arihant.
As per the 30-year plan of the Indian Navy, India requires 18 conventional submarines and six nuclear-powered submarines for an effective deterrent against China and Pakistan.