The Indian Navy commissioned the indigenously built INS Mahe, the first of the Mahe-class Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC), at the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai, on Monday.
Built by Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) with over 80 per cent indigenous components, the 1,100-tonne ship is equipped with indigenously developed advanced sonars, torpedoes, and guns, and is also capable of undertaking advanced mine-laying in shallow seas. “She will serve as a ‘Silent Hunter’ on the Western Seaboard—powered by self-reliance and dedicated to safeguarding India’s maritime frontiers,” a Defence Ministry statement read.
The commissioning of the first of the eight Mahe-class Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) warships comes only weeks after reports claimed that the Pakistan Navy is set to receive the first of the eight Hangor-class submarines from China in 2026.
Islamabad had categorically claimed that the reason for purchasing the subs from Beijing, its single biggest arms and defence partner, was "to address a force imbalance with India." The agreement is reportedly worth up to $5 billion and the handover is expected to be completed within an eight-year window between 2022 and 2028.
Based on China’s Type 039A export design, the Hangor-class submarines belong to the diesel-electric attack class. While the first four will be built in China, the remaining are reportedly to be assembled in Pakistan in an effort to improve its technical capabilities.
Nicknamed "The Hunter," the stealth, diesel-electric submarines (SSKs) operating on battery power are incredibly difficult to detect in noisy, cluttered shallow waters. Capable of carrying heavy anti-ship and anti-submarine torpedoes, they can destroy surface ships and submarines alike.
Can India’s ‘Silent Hunter’ match ‘The Hunter’?
No doubt the torpedo capabilities of the submarine can outclass those of the 78 m-long warship. However, INS Mahe will not be deployed in open waters, while submarines will have to operate in shallow waters at times. Then the tables will turn.
The Mahe-class ASW-SWCs have shallow-water optimized sensors which can counter the "silent" advantage of the invisible enemy. Features like hull-mounted sonar, towed array sonar, or low-frequency variable depth sonar could help them identify the stealth subs, naval warfare reports indicate. Its capability to move quickly in shallow waters may also become handy in coastal areas along with the anti-submarine torpedoes and depth charges in its arsenal.
