Being built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd. in Mumbai, the submarine was set afloat in the sea for the first time in October last year. (PTI file photo)
The first of the Scorpene class submarine Kalvari will start its trial this year, Vice Chief of Naval Staff P Murugesan said in New Delhi today.
"Some time his year, the trial will start. Being the first of her class, trials will go on for long; it can be close to a year," Vice Admiral Murugesan said at a press conference on the theme 'roadmap for a future-ready naval force'.
Being built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd. in Mumbai, the submarine was set afloat in the sea for the first time in October last year.
It is first of the stealth submarines being built under Project 75, in collaboration with DCNS, France.
The boat would be equipped with anti-ship missiles and long range guided torpedoes along with modern sensor suite.
The Vice Admiral also called for industrial support for indegenising the three components of shipbuilding -- float, move and fight -- to 90 per cent.
While India is doing well in terms of the cost of ship building and its quality, the time factor needs to be controlled, said Mr Murugesan.
"A warship in any country shows its industrial capability. Today we can produce destroyers and frigates no less than any other destroyer and frigate, and it is much cheaper," he said.
"Timeline is where we need to make change." he said.
Vice Admiral Murugesan said the contracts for building Visakhapatnam class (Project 15B) stealth guided missile destroyers and Shivalik-class frigate (Project 17A) have components for outsourcing indigenously to promote Make in India.
In Project 15B, this outsourcing has to be 17 per cent, and in Project 17A it will be 46 per cent.
Decision on outsourcing will be taken by the shipyard, he added.