What you should know about INS Vela the fourth Scorpene submarine

New Delhi, May 06: Indian Navy's fourth stealth Scorpene class submarine INS Vela was launched for trials at Mazagon Dockyards Limited (MDL) on Monday.

Meanwhile, Vagir and Vagsheer are the remaining two submarines in the country's Scorpene Submarine programme are in the advanced stages of manufacturing at MDL .

• INS Vela is the fourth of the six Scorpene submarine that has completed its out fittings at Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) Mumbai.
• The first submarine was scheduled to be delivered by 2012, but it was delayed.
• The first submarine INS Kalvari was commissioned in December last year while two other submarines--INS Khanderi and INS Karanj--are in the advanced stages to join the Navy fleet.
• The development assumes significance as Chinese ships increase their presence in the Indian Ocean
• The Scorpene submarines are capable of undertaking different types of missions, including anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying and area surveillance.

About INS Vela (S40):

INS Vela (S40) was the lead ship of four diesel-electric Vela-class submarines of the Indian Navy. The submarine was commissioned on 31 August 1973 in Riga, Latvian SSR. Along with her sister ship Vagli, she spent almost 10 years undergoing a protracted refit by Hindustan Shipyard.

After 37 years of service, the submarine was decommissioned on 25 June 2010. The submarine was claimed by the Eastern Naval Command to be the oldest operational submarine in the world at the time of her decommissioning.