May 9, 2012 Rajat Pandit, TNN
NEW DELHIl Defence minister A K Antony on Wednesday assured the Rajya Sabha that the first French Scorpene submarines will roll out of Mazagon Docks in June 2015.
The minister said all the six submarines under Project-75 were being constructed concurrently at MDL. The sixth submarine is scheduled for delivery in September 2018.
The over Rs 23,000 crore project, of course, is running three years behind schedule, with the Navy grappling with just 14 ageing diesel-electric submarines at present. Moreover, the defence ministry is yet to launch the long-delayed Project-75India, under which the Navy hopes to acquire six advanced stealth submarines.
These submarines, armed with both land attack missiles as well as air-independent propulsion for greater endurance, will come for over Rs 50,000 crore.
Antony, on his part, said, "Modernisation of the submarine fleet is being undertaken on a progressive basis to maintain combat worthiness."
"The equipment/systems that have undergone/are undergoing modernization are combat system, sensors, navigation complex, communication suite and auxiliary equipment," he added.
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