Secret data on India's Scorpene-class submarines leaked: report

Documents totalling 22,400 pages have been leaked and could prove to a blessing for India’s rivals such as Pakistan.

New Delhi: The secret combat capabilities of India's new Scorpene-class submarines designed by French shipbuilder DCNS for the Indian Navy, have been leaked.

According to reports in The Australian, documents totalling 22,400 pages have been leaked and could prove to a blessing for India’s rivals such as Pakistan and China.

The leak includes details of the submarines' underwater sensors, above-water sensors, combat management system, torpedo launch system and specifications, communications system and navigation systems.

The Australian reported it had seen 4,457 pages on the Scorpene’s underwater sensors, 4,209 pages on its above-water sensors, 4,301 pages on its combat management system, 493 pages on its torpedo launch system and specifications, 6,841 pages on the communications system and 2,138 on its navigation systems.

The first of the Scorpene class submarines - Kalvari - went for trial in May 2016 and is expected to be inducted into the Indian Navy soon. The induction is already four years behind schedule.

Indian Navy officials say the six submarines, once inducted, would form the core of the Navy’s submarine arm for the next two decades.

DCNS has blamed the Indian side for the leak, said reports, claiming that such a breach of technical data could not happen from France.

The leak will also cause alarm at the highest level in countries that operate a variant of the Scorpene, or have ordered the submarine, including Malaysia, Chile and Brazil, said a report in The Australian.

(This article first appeared in Deccan Chronicle)