 A port beam view of the Indian navy patrol submarine INS Sindhughosh en route to India.
IntroductionThe Indian Navy (IN) is close to completing overhaul and upgrade of its 10 Kilo class (Project 887EKM) submarines under a deal signed in 2001. Each upgrade costs $80 million and involves complete overhaul of the submarine and its hull structures; installation of an improved control system, sonar, electronic warfare system, and an integrated weapon control system. Additionally the subs are being equipped to launch Club-S missiles from its torpedo tubes. The refit includes support for the new version of Klub-S (3M54E1 anti-ship and 3M14E land attack) cruise missiles and over ten Indian and foreign-made systems including the Ushus hydro-acoustic (sonar) system and CSS-MK-2 radio communications system. In addition, the boat's cooling system is to be modified, the Porpoise radar fitted and other work carried out "increasing the boat's military capacity and safety." Two submarines - INS Sindhuvir and INS Sindhuraj - were modernized at the Admiralty Shipyard in St. Petersburg. Later, five subs - INS Sindhukesari, INS Sindhuratna, INS Sindhugosh and INS Sindhuvijay and INS Sindhurakshak - were modernized at - Zvyozdochka Shipyard in Severodvinsk. Of the remaining 3 subs, one has already been overhauled in India, and another two are in the process of being overhauled. Kilo class submarines were developed by the Rubin Central Design Bureau (St. Petersburg).
INS Sindhurakshak OverhaulThe INS Sindhurakshak was handed back to the Indian Navy after upgrade at an official ceremony at Zvezdochka shipyard on Saturday, January 26, 2013. The boat sail for Mumbai on January 29 via the northern sea route, escorted by Russian ice-breakers, and arrived in Mumbai on April 29, 2013. INS Sindhurakshak was the first Indian submarine to journey through the northern seas under ice conditions. A deal to overall INS Sindhurakshak was signed on June 4, 2010.
The floating dock - Rolldock Sun - carrying the submarine on board left India for Severodvinsk on June 20, 2010. It arrived there on August 3.
Overhaul of the sub was expected to take between 2-2.5 years.
INS Sindhurakshak was laid at Admiralteyskie Verfi (St. Petersburg) – in 1995 under Indian Navy's order, and launched in June 1997. It was handed over to the Indian Navy in Dec 1997.  Photo Courtesy Indian Embassy in Russia, credit: KR Deepak Upgrade LandmarksOn December 18, 2012, the Zvezdochka shipyard in a press release announced that INS Sindhurakshak had successfully hit sea surface and coast based targets using its Club-S 3M-54E cruise missile. [via Naval Today] The missile test was the closing round of the submarine's sea trials. INS Sindhurakshak sailed for its sea trials on Monday, October 29, 2012. "The Indian submarine, which has been repaired and modernized at the Zvezdochka shipyard, sailed for sea trials on Monday," the company said in a statement. Earlier, rusnavy.com reported that sea trials would start in on October 15, 2012 on completion of harbor trials . The sub was withdrawn from the JSC Zvezdochka shipyard's covered slipway on June 23, 2012. Following completion of its trials, the sub will then be repainted and handed over to India by the end of 2102. Commander Rajesh Ramkumar will then sail INS Sindhurakshak to its base in India. He was part of the crew that sailed the sub from St Petersburg to India after accepting it into service in 1997. [via Russia & India Report] In December 2011, Zvezdochka shipyard had confirmed that the submarine would be delivered in the second half of 2012. [via rusnavy.com] INS Sindukirti OverhaulSeverodvinsk repaired and modernized INS Sindukirti at Vishakhapatnam Shipyard Limited (VSL), India, and is now in the process of overhauling INS Sindhudhvaj and INS Sindhushashtra at Vishakhapatnam at VSL.
IN Project 636 / Kilo class submarine fleetThe IN Project 636 / Kilo class submarine fleet comprises the following subs.
Name Commission Date Kilo-class submarine capabilitiesThe Kilo-class submarine is thought to be one of the most silent submarine classes in the world. It has been specifically designed for anti-shipping and anti-submarine operations in relatively shallow waters.
Russia has built Kilo-class submarines for India, China and Iran.
Club-S MissilesAll 10 IN Kilo class subs are also being retrofitted with Klub-S (3M54E1 anti-ship and 3M14E land attack) cruise missile family.
The Club-S 3M-54E1 is a subsonic sea skimming (100') anti-ship missile which accelerates to supersonic speeds during its terminal phase covering the last 15 km in less than 20 seconds, making if difficult for anti missiles defenses to engage it.
The missile can be launched from a 533 mm torpedo tube from a depth of 35 to 40 meters (130 feet). It can also be launched from a vertical launch tube.
It uses an ARGS-54 active radar seeker and Glonass satellite and inertial guidance.
Club-S 3M-54E1 INS Sindhugosh and INS Sindhuvijay have already been equipped with the Club-S cruise missile systems.
The upgrade wasn't smooth. After INS Sindhuvijay was upgraded, six test firings of the Club-S missile in 2007 failed and India refused to accept the submarines which spent two years in Russia. The technical glitches were eventually sorted out.
The Zvezdochka shipyard will install Club-S cruise missile systems on four Kilo class diesel submarines in service with the Indian navy in the next five years.
"The new missile system will be installed on the INS Sindhuratna, INS Sindhuraj, INS Sindhushastra, and INS Sindhuvir. The retrofit will be carried out at Indian shipyards," the shipyard in northern Russia said in a statement in September 2009. [via RIA Novosti] Kilo Class Submarine CapabilityA typical Kilo-class submarine has a displacement of 2,300 tonnes, length of 72.6 meters, a submerged speed of 19 knots (about 35 kilometres an hour), a test depth of 300 metres, a crew of 52 and endurance of 45 days. The subs are armed with six 533 mm torpedo tubes. Reference |
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Kilo Class submarines upgrade |