INS ''Vela'' (S24) is the fourth
submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
of the first batch of six s for the
Indian Navy
The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...
. It is a
diesel-electric attack submarine
An attack submarine or hunter-killer submarine is a submarine specifically designed for the purpose of attacking and sinking other submarines, surface combatants and merchant vessels. In the Soviet and Russian navies they were and are called "mul ...
based on the , designed by French naval defence and energy group
DCNS and manufactured by
Mazagon Dock Limited
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) (IAST: ''Majhagānv Dawk Limiṭeḍ''), formerly called Mazagon Dock Limited, is a shipyard situated in Mazagaon, Mumbai. It manufactures warships and submarines for the Indian Navy and offshore platform ...
, an Indian shipyard in
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
. The first cutting of steel for the submarine began on 14 July 2009,
and the ship was launched on 6 May 2019.
The submarine was delivered to Indian Navy on 9 November 2021,
and formally commissioned into the service by
Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral
Karambir Singh
Admiral Karambir Singh, PVSM, AVSM, ADC (born 3 November 1959), is a former flag officer of Indian Navy, who served as the 24th Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS). The "Grey Eagle" (senior-most serving naval aviator) of the Navy, he replaced Admir ...
on 25 November.
The submarine inherits its name from
INS ''Vela'' (S40) which served in the Navy from 1973–2010, and was the lead ship of the
Vela-class. The crew of the INS ''Vela'' (S40) was present at the commissioning ceremony of the INS ''Vela'' (S24).
''Vela'' is the name of an Indian fish from the
stingray
Stingrays are a group of sea rays, which are cartilaginous fish related to sharks. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae (sixgill stingray), Plesiobatidae ( ...
species known for its aggression and offensive power, and the ability to camouflage itself from predators.
The submarine's crest depicts the stingray swimming across the blue seas.
The ship's mascot is a sub-ray, a portmanteau of submarine and stingray.
The mascot symbolises the "
metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some inse ...
of the submarine’s character with the qualities of a stingray".
See also
*
List of submarines of the Indian Navy
This is a list of known submarines of the Indian Navy, grouped by class, and pennant numbers within the class.
In service
Under construction
Planned
Decommissioned
See also
; Indian navy related lists
* Aircraft of the India ...
*
List of active Indian Navy ships
List of active Indian Navy ships is a list of ships in active service with the Indian Navy. In service ships are taken from the official Indian Navy website.
References
2019 ships
Ships built in India
Kalvari-class submarines
Submarines of the Indian Navy
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