MUMBAI, October 13 — The Indian Navy on Tuesday formally commissioned its sixth and final Kalvari-class diesel-electric attack submarine, INS Vagsheer (Pennant Number S26), at an official induction ceremony conducted at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai, marking the operational culmination of the historic Project-75 submarine construction programme.
Constructed indigenously by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) under technology transfer collaboration with France's Naval Group, INS Vagsheer incorporates advanced acoustic quieting technologies, hydrodynamic hull optimization, and state-of-the-art combat management suites. The 67-metre boat is armed with heavyweight wire-guided torpedoes, tube-launched SM39 Exocet anti-ship cruise missiles, and modern sea-mine laying capabilities suited for anti-surface warfare (ASuW), anti-submarine warfare (ASW), intelligence gathering, and littoral surveillance.
The induction of Vagsheer completes the six-submarine Kalvari-class flotilla—joining sister vessels Kalvari, Khanderi, Karanj, Vela, and Vagir. Naval planners highlighted that MDL is now preparing for the Project-75(I) procurement of six next-generation submarines fitted with indigenous Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) plugs, enabling extended underwater endurance without surfacing to snorkel.
The strategic dimensions of Project-75 versus Project-75(I), the physics of fuel-cell Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) developed by DRDO, India's SSBN nuclear triad leg (INS Arihant and INS Arighaat), and indigenous shipbuilding mandates under the Strategic Partnership (SP) model are foundational topics across UPSC Civil Services (GS-III: Defence Technology & Security) and CDS examinations.