IDF asks
“ There was only, need to know “The Date of INS Kalvari Commissioning invite and Chief Guest name was kept in wraps for 14th Dec an important Unclassified Non Nuke Submarine Event. It Was Telecast Live On DD on 14th And Navy & MDSL Made All Arrangements as Ordered”. Bravo Zulu.
The commissioning was done by PM Modi donning a Navy Brass Cap CNS Admiral Sunil Lanba gave him after campaigning in Gujarat, and he went back to Gujarat to cast his vote. IAF flew hin in minutes. This to media came out as a political move of chess –if so , why drag in the Navy into this. Indians are argumentative and national security is critical so Indians will have to get used to how the BJP-Hindutva Government has decided to work. Results will take time to emerge.
Smell the coffee of the times. Navy obeyed the order and did a good job to assemble all those MoD thought fit and we are lucky we have such an obedient, responsive and capable Armed forces.
IDF congratulates those involved and wishes INS Kalvari Fair Seas, Stern winds and Safe diving. Sam No Varunah.
Foreign Defence Attaches in Delhi, Defence correspondents and Indian and Foreign Diplomats and glitterati, serving and retired, were celebrating and toasting the Emperor of Japan’s birthday in the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi on Wednesday 13th when news spread that Kalvari, the first of the Scorpene-class conventional submarines would be commissioned next morning by Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally at the Naval Dockyard. Congress was upset as it was Election Day in Gujarat.
IDF has seen a trend that Commissioning of Ships & Conventional Submarines by Government or ordering 36 Rafales are decisions “Taken from the Hip,” most times by PM/PMO and Government is secretive, an RSS trait ! The event took place when the Gujarat elections were being fought very bitterly with language one will call unparliamentarily! Media had a field day quoting leaders.
Commissioning is big day like a Birthday celebration and invitations are issued to Senior officers in NHQ and MOD, some Embassies and the suppliers, DCNS and Thales out station. Families of crew, workers of MDL and suppliers and some prominent maritime persons too. Ex Officers and Sailors of the First Kalvari commissioned on 8th Dec, 1967 are invited and Ex Commanding Officers of the original Kalvari. They sweated for the Nation—submarine service is no easy task. Media cubs, learns a lot, if invited.
As PM said “Bhartiya Logo Ka Pasina Laga Hai” …….Ex COs were seen in the line up and may have attended the nostalgic Bara Khana and Adm VP Shekhawat Vrc ex Submariner and CNS was seen on TV.
Normally an advertisement is put in the papers as it a big day and so the Nation can feel proud of the construction in India’s Make in India. Navy is not to blame and Navy must have known the announcement will be made after Gujarat poll campaigning ends, and “TO BE READY”, like Army was told to Quell the Jat uprising in Rajasthan, or repair a Bridge at a Railway Station that had fallen in Mumbai.
So IDF’s message is Smell the Coffee ! Government knows best. And as per Article 53 Cabinet Control PM is the Defacto CDS also. PM Modi is exercising his prerogative and powerful leaders like Trump (Make USA great), Putin (Russia rise again), Xi Jinping (The China Dream) and Kim-Jong-un (Take on USA) exercise full authority to propel their nations.
In India Armed Forces are apolitical and obey but those who give orders, should be circumspect that no Tradition is tampered with, or as Gen Bipin Rawat said at USI keep military out of politics.
The Navy had stated Kalvari was ready and was going to be commissioned in 2017. She had fired a SM-39 Exocet missile successfully and as the Torpedo was not selected, the German wire guided SUT-B of the aging 1500 HDW design was tried with ‘Jugad’ as an interim measure. Kalvari submarine has been built in India after 17 years drought. BZ.
The event was bigger than the Nation knows in technological terms and Private FM Radio largest heard medium is not allowed to tell the nation that as Sports, Current Affairs and News is reserved for AIR as per the Telegraph Act 1895 and FM contracts——few realize that on PRIVATE FM Indians never hear anything except Songs, Ads and Inane talk. So IDF explains how important Submarines are. 
Submarines are the Sword Arm of a nation for war, remember INS Khukri and Ghazi and 16 Dec is VICTORY DAY Indian Military delivered what Governmant wanted BANGLA DESH and Indian Veteran invitees are in Dacca for that and BD Navy has two Chinese second hand submarines .
Nuclear submarines with nuclear ballistic missiles are vehicles for deterrence, and India has two nuclear neighbours Pakistan and China. MoD approved a plan for construction of two lines of new-generation submarines in 1997 after Congress Black listed HDW contract and stopped Navy to build any more than the two at MDL. Paradise was lost for the India and its Navy.
In 1999 negotiations began with Thomson-CSF, which later became Thales, and by 2005 they made a jointly owned Company Armaris with French shipyard DCN and Spain’s Navantia. The Contract was split between the two Nations, front and back modules for around $ 3 bill, for 6 plus 6 option Scorpene submarines.
MoD for reasons defence deals are known signed two contracts one for Navy and another for MDL procured items like expensive Engines, Piping etc and quoted RER –approximate prices which is another story as no one checked the prices. MDSL could not procure the MDL Procured Items. Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee told Parliament that, and Navy produced a CCPA paper for another $ 1 bill when building slowed. Navantia walked out, and France & DCNS took over. A War Room leak alibi became a big issue and Lcdr Sankaran was investigated by CBI. It is said he is absconding and may know more. It is said both Congress and BJP may not want him back. Now it should be buried we have Kalvari. The case is time barred.
Indian Navy needs submarines. It was an over due decision. After a hiatus more funds were advanced and INS Kalvari is a potent addition. It needs telling which is also in Navy Dairy -2018 (Variety Book Depot Rs 200) Kotah Rs 100 with compaision with China’s PLA (NAVY), PN and IRIN !
The Scorpene is a deep diving modern conventional technological submarine with diesel propulsion, excellent SUBTICs control, radars, EW , French Thales Flanked sonars, a WEESE-BEL aided communications and Tata –BAE thin command console that can be lowered from the Conning Tower that PM used to enter.
She is 219 feet long, speed of over 20 knots for 1,700 tonnes. With fewer crew with automation she can remain at sea for about 50 days. She has, a Divesat satellite system, Neriedes VLF antenea for under water reception to maintain secrecy and escape rafts. The Internet connected Simdis Plotting table with Gots software for navigation, attack and digital electronics charts is the world’s most advanced. ECA that has supplied ROVs to Navy’s minesweepers has provided communication and electrical converters.
Kalvari was handed over by Mazagon Docks Shipbuilding Ltd (MDSL) to the Chief Staff Officer (Technical) in HQWNC in Mumbai few weeks before after the D-448 was signed. The D-448 is a document that shows if there is any in complete work is remaining to be done by the Builder.
Media reported RM Mrs Sitharaman, launched India’s second bigger nuclear submarine (first INS Arihant with K-15/B-05 Missiles) at SBC Vishakapatnam some weeks ago and will have longer range K-4 missiles. It was kept low key. Media calls her Arigat but experts say it should be Arighat and Navy’s submarine arm celebrated its golden jubilee.
Submariners hoped Kalvari would be commissioned on 8th December on its 50th Submarine Day when the first Foxtrot class submarine INS Kalvari was commissioned at Riga by Amb Kewal Singh, but PM was campaigning in Gujarat in a bitter fought poll for power.
Submariners as a special lot, were made famous by Rudyard Kipling’s prophetic lines in 1916, “The Submarine has created its own type of Officer and Man with language and traditions apart from the rest of the Service, and yet at heart unchangingly of the service”.
In this context the genesis of this Make in India project called ATV-Akakshanka is also more special than the nation knows. IDF salutes Submariners, Navy and MSDL….(Inputs Trishul Trident also).