Upgraded Indian submarine, INS Sindhuvijay, heads for home after extensive delays

The Indian Navy's refit and up-gradation programme of its conventional diesel-powered submarines will cross another milestone when the fourth Kilo-class diesel-electric submarine, INS Sindhuvijay, will set sail for India on 5 August. The submarine rejoins the fleet after an extensive overhaul and refit programme at the Zvezdochka shipyard in Severodvinsk in northern Russia, which was also marked by extensive delays.

As has become a standard pattern with all Russian-origin programmes, the overhaul of the submarine also  faced extensive delays with the new SS-N-27 Club-S cruise missiles miserably failing to meet performance levels. In six consecutive pre-delivery test firings in the September- November 2007 period, the Club missiles failed to find their targets.

The Indian Navy refused to take delivery of the submarine till the glitches were resolved.

The Club-S subsonic cruise missile, designed for launch from a 533 mm torpedo, or a vertical launch, tube has a range of 160 nautical miles (about 220 km). It uses an ARGS-54 active radar seeker and Glonass satellite and inertial guidance.

Reports would suggest that the new trials were successfully completed in the middle of this month, after a six-month delay.

INS Sindhuvijay is the fourth Kilo-class submarine to be refitted at the Zvyozdochka shipyard.

The upgrade program also involved a complete overhaul of the submarine, including its hull structure, installation of improved control systems, sonars, electronic warfare systems as well as an integrated weapon control system.