NEW DELHI: The Navy will add yet another home-built sub-hunter to its fleet on Wednesday, with the anti-submarine warfare shallow water craft (ASW-SWC) Malvan slated for commissioning at Karwar, against the backdrop of growing Chinese and Pakistani underwater activity in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
It is learnt that the Navy is planning to add a total of 18 vessels this year, including the last Project 17A stealth frigate, more ASW-SWCs, the diving support vessel Nipun and several auxiliary ships, with four more warships due for delivery over the next two months.
Named after the coastal town in Maharashtra, Malvan is the second of eight Mahe-class ASW-SWCs being built by Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) with more than 80 per cent indigenous content.
The vessels assume greater significance amid expanding Chinese submarine deployments in the IOR and Pakistan’s ongoing undersea modernisation, including the AIP (air-independent propulsion) equipped Chinese-built Hangor-class subs.
Pakistan, with its limited surface combatant strength and lack of dedicated ASW platforms, is expected to lean heavily on its submarine arm in any future conflict, making shallow-water ASW an operational imperative for India, sources said.
“These vessels are meant to dominate the littoral waters, freeing our frontline warships for blue-water operations. Enemy submarines will have to sneak into shallow waters of just 50 to 60 metres depth to get into effective torpedo-firing positions. Malvan is meant to detect, track and engage such threats at stand-off ranges, well before they can endanger our high-value assets,” the source explained.
The defence ministry had approved the 16-vessel ASW-SWC programme, worth Rs 13,440 crore, in December 2013. Contracts for eight vessels each were awarded to state-run CSL and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) to progressively replace the ageing Russian-origin Abhay-class corvettes inducted in the early 1990s.
The 78-metre, 900-tonne Malvan is geared to hunt enemy submarines operating in shallow coastal waters, where acoustic clutter makes detection difficult for larger warships.
The warship's largely homegrown sensor and weapons suite includes the DRDO-developed Abhay hull-mounted sonar, a low-frequency variable depth sonar, lightweight torpedoes, anti-submarine rocket launchers, mines, a 30 mm main gun and 12.7 mm remotely operated guns.
The vessels are also configured for subsurface surveillance, mine-laying, search and rescue operations and low-intensity maritime missions in coordination with naval helicopters and aircraft.