Scorpene Submarine: Important Topics for UPSC Exams

What is it?

They are a class of diesel-electric attack submarines developed jointly by the French Direction des Constructions Navales (DCN) and the Spanish company Navantia, and now by DCNS.
It features diesel propulsion and additional air-independent propulsion.
India had ordered 6 such submarines in 2005 costing $3.5 bn including technology transfer and building at Mazagon dock shipbuilders, Mumbai.
INS Kalvari is the 1st Scorpene class submarine, 2nd is INS Khanderi built under Project-75.
Recently huge amount of data of DCNS was leaked which included sensitive information upon Scorpene class submarines such as design, frequency, depth etc.

Its naming is done after the Island fort of Maratha forces, which played a vital role in ensuring their supremacy at sea in the late 17th century.
The state-of-the-art features include superior stealth and the ability to launch a crippling attack on the enemy using precision guided weapons. The attack can be launched with torpedoes, as well as tube-launched anti-ship missiles, whilst underwater or on surface.
The stealth features will give it invulnerability, unmatched by many submarines.
The submarine is planned to operate in all theatres, including the tropics.
All means and communications are provided to ensure interoperability with other modules of a Naval Task Force.
It can commence diverse types of missions usually undertaken by any modern submarine like anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying and area surveillance.

It happened through an Australian newspaper that the entire world now knows about it.
One of DCNS previous employee leaked it for some reasons yet to be known.
24000 pages of data were leaked.

The documents list out everything from the attack submarine’s diving depth, range and endurance, besides its magnetic, electromagnetic and infrared data.
The frequencies at which the submarines gather intelligence and the levels of noise the subs make at various speeds.
As per defence ministry the leak is not much harmful but still it’s not good.
It shows that how India’s dependence on weapon import is not immune to data breach and therefore security issues.
Pakistan and China have now an intelligence freebie through this leak.
Even release of 1st submarines of this class which is INS Kalavari is now delayed and is expected to be out in mid-2017.