Leak of documents relating to Scorpene submarines serious

The leaked documents describe the combat capability of six submarines, which were designed by French shipbuilder DCNS for the Indian Navy as part of a $3bn deal, Hindustan Times reported.

A statement from the Indian Navy said the data seem to have been leaked from overseas.

“Reacting with alacrity to the development, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who learnt about the leak at midnight, ordered Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lamba to go into the ‘entire issue”.

In a major jolt to India’s naval security programming, a report in Australian media on Tuesday revealed that sensitive data related to India’s Scorpene submarine’s underwater sensors, above-water sensors, combat management system, torpedo launch system and specifications, communications system and navigation systems has been leaked.

“In the case of Australia, and unlike India, DCNS is both the provider and in-country controller of technical data for the full chain of transmission and usage over the life of the submarines”.

Australia in April awarded DCNS a A$50 billion ($38 billion) contract to design and build its next generation of submarines.

It has reported that the six Scorpene submarines are being built by Mazagaon Docks Limited (MDL) along with DCNS of France.

However, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull sought to ease concerns, explaining that while the leak was “of concern”, Australia’s submarines were of a different model from those in the released plans, adding that the information was “some years old”. They also contain information on the submarine’s diving depths, range, and endurance, besides its magnetic, electromagnetic, and infrared data.

“The documents should not have been leaked, but there is nothing to be alarmed about”, said the source.

“First step is to identify if its related to India, and anyway its not all 100 percent leak”, Parrikar asserted. It is also still uncertain as to whether the data leak originated from France or India.

Xenophon said the implications of the leak were massive and called on DCNS and the Australian government to explain what those implications are.

The documents from DCNS, the French company that designed the subs being built in India, were leaked, triggering fear it may compromise Scorpenes’ stealth aspect. The data is then believed to have been taken to a company in Southeast Asia, possibly to assist in a commercial venture for a regional navy.

The documents cover the Scorpene-class model and do not contain any details of the vessel now being designed for the Australian fleet, which will be a conventional model based on DCNS’s nuclear-powered Barracuda.