Sensitive data on Scorpene submarines leaked; probe ordered
24 Aug 2016 10:59 AM GMT
According to the report DCNS has said that such a leak of technical data could not happen with its proposed submarine for Australia .The DCNS also implied hat the leak might have occurred at India’s end, rather than from France. DCNS also recently won a contract to design 12 submarines for Australia. where a DCNS design is built by a local company, DCNS is the provider and not the controller of technical data,” it said.
The report states that the leak could provide crucial intelligence data to India’s strategic rivals, such as Pakistan or China.
The data tells the submarine crew where they can speak safely to avoid detection by the enemy. It also discloses magnetic, electromagnetic and infrared data as well as the specifications of the submarine’s torpedo launch system and the combat system, the report further stated.
The data includes 4,457 pages on the submarine’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 sub’s communications system and 2,138 on its navigation systems.
While DCNS claimed that the leak was unlikely from its end, the report points to information leaked about other upcoming DCNS deals with other countries which likely means the leak was from the company.
According to The Australian, the data on the Scorpene was written in France for India in 2011 and is suspected of being removed from France in that same year by a former French Navy officer who was at that time a DCNS subcontractor.
The news is of particular concern to India as the Scorpenes are to be the mainstay of the Navy for the next couple of next decades.
The first of the Scorpenes, Kalvari, is currently undergoing sea trials and is scheduled to be commissioned in October this year with the remaining five expected to be rolled out at nine-month intervals. With depleting submarine levels, India has expressed interest in ordering additional Scorpenes which would also keep the assembly line at MDL running.
Keywords: Scorpene submarines, Indian Navy, DCNS, Mazgaon Docks Limited
Sensitive data related to India’s Scorpene submarines has been leaked, with French shipbuilder DCNS, which designed the submarine, facing a leak of documents spreading over 22,000 pages, a report in Australian media revealed on Tuesday. The Indian Express, however, could not verify the same. Marked ‘Restricted Scorpene India’, the DCNS documents could provide an intelligence landmine if obtained by India’s neighbours – Pakistan or China.
According to The Australian, the leak, about 22,400 pages, details the entire secret combat capability of the six Scorpene-class submarines that French shipbuilder DCNS has designed for the Indian Navy.
The leak includes details of the submarine’s underwater sensors, above-water sensors, combat management system, torpedo launch system and specifications, communications system and navigation systems.
"I have asked the Navy chief to study the entire issue about what has been leaked, what is there about us and to what extent. It came to my knowledge at about 12 AM. What I understand is there is a hacking. So we will find out all this," Parrikar told reporters here.
The Defence Minister said he does not suspect the leak to be 100 per cent since a lot of final integration lies with India.
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