India To Upgrade Soviet-Era INS Sindhukirti Submarine Indigenously

In another boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi government’s Make-in-India campaign, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has signed a deal with Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) worth Rs 934 crore, for a refit of Soviet-era INS Sindhukirti.

INS Sindhukirti is the third kilo-class submarine, inducted into the Indian Navy in 1990, bought from the erstwhile Soviet Union in the late 80s.

Kilo-class submarines are diesel-electric submarines that use diesel power to recharge their batteries.

Various naval experts have nick-named the kilo-class submarines a ‘black hole’ due to their exceptionally quiet operation.

INS Sindhukirti can carry more than 30 torpedoes, anti-ship missiles, cruise missiles, and depth charges, has a displacement of over 3,000 tonne and can operate for 45 days at sea with a crew of 53 sailors.

Earlier, INS Sindhukirti was the first-ever submarine that went to refit at Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL), Vishakapatnam in 2015.

Since then, HSL has refitted another kilo-class submarine, INS Sindhuvir four days ahead of schedule.

The refit project involves more than 20 micro, small, and medium enterprises and will lead to employment generation of 1,000 man-days per day for the project duration.

This refit is a further step forward towards undertaking medium-life certification of these submarines at HSL in line with the government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat or self-reliant India campaign.