Details of India Navy's Kilo class submarines upgrade

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Introduction

The Indian Navy (IN) is in the process of upgrading its 10 Kilo class (Project 887EKM) submarines under a deal signed in 2001. The overhaul includes sensors and weapon upgrade, including fitment of Club-S missiles.

Each upgrade costs $80 million and involves a 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.

Four submarines - INS Sindhuvir, INS Sindhuratna, INS Sindhughosh, and INS Sindhuvijay - have already been overhauled at the Zvezdochka shipyard in Severodvinsk, which is currently overhauling the fifth - INS Sindhurakshak.

Kilo class submarines were developed by the Rubin Central Design Bureau (St. Petersburg).

INS Sindhurakshak Overhaul

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.

The submarine will be fitted with the Club-S missile system, the Indian developed USHUS sonar, CCS-MK-II communication system and Porpoise radar.

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.

Current Status & Delivery

The sub was withdrawn from the JSC Zvezdochka shipyard's covered slipway on June 23, 2012.

Harbor trials of the submarine at its berth at Zvyozdochka will start in the next few days.

Sea trials by the dockyard will take place in autumn. The sub will test its Club-S missile during these trials.

The sub will then be repainted and handed over to India by the end of 2012.

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.

In December 2011, Zvezdochka shipyard had confirmed that the submarine would be delivered in the second half of 2012.

INS Sindukirti Overhaul

Severodvinsk shipyard is concurrently repairing and modernizing INS Sindukirti in her basing site Vishakhapatnam, India.

IN Project 636 / Kilo class submarine fleet

The IN Project 636 / Kilo class submarine fleet comprises the following subs.

Name Commission Date
INS Sindhughosh S55 30 April 1986
INS Sindhudhvaj S56 12 June 1987
INS Sindhuraj S57 20 October 1987
INS Sindhuvir S58 26 August 1988
INS Sindhuratna S59 22 December 1988
INS Sindhukesari S60 16 February 1989
INS Sindhukirti S61 4 January 1990
INS Sindhuvijay S62 18 March 1991
INS Sindhurakshak S63 24 December 1997
INS Sindhushastra S65 19 July 2000

Kilo-class submarine capabilities

The 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.

Displacement (tons) 2,300
Length (m) 72.6
Beam (m) 9.9
Max Dive Depth (m/ft) 350/1,200
Range (miles) 6,000
Crew 57
Armament 6x533mm Torpedo tubes
Max Surface Speed (kts) 10
Max Submerged Speed (kts) 19
Endurance (days) 45
Max Depth (m) 300

Russia has built Kilo-class submarines for India, China and Iran.

Club-S Missiles

All 10 IN Kilo class subs are also being retrofitted with Club-S submarine 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
Weight 4,400 lb
Warhead 440 lb
Range 300 km
Terminal Speed 3,000 kph

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.

Kilo Class Submarine Capability

A typical Kilo-class submarine has a displacement of 2,300 tonnes, length of 72.6 metres, 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.

Kilo Class submarines upgrade - IDP Sentinel

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INS Sindhurakshak after upgrade

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