Sensitive Information On India's Top Secret Scorpene Submarine Leaks Online, Probe Ordered

A probe has been ordered into ascertaining the damages caused by an online data leak which has exposed the combat capabilities of India's under construction Scorpene-class submarine.

Reuters

The leak, which was first reported in The Australian newspaper, contains more than 22,000 pages outlining the secret capabilities of six submarines that French builder DCNS has designed for the Indian Navy.

"I understand there has been a case of hacking," Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar told reporters. "We will find out what has happened."

The leaked documents were marked "Restricted Scorpene India", the Australian newspaper said. Among the 22,400 pages of leaked documents were also thousands of pages on the Scorpene's sensors and thousands more on its communication and navigation systems. As many as 500 pages were on the torpedo launch system alone.

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It lists out the frequencies at which the submarines gather intelligence and the levels of noise the subs make at various speeds, the news report said. They also contain information on the submarine's diving depths, range, and endurance, besides its magnetic, electromagnetic, and infrared data.

BCCL

France's DCNS said that it was aware of the articles published in the Australian press and that "national security authorities" had launched an inquiry into the matter, without giving details.

The submarines, being built in Mazagon Docks Mumbai was designed at a cost of $3.45 billion by French defence contractor DCNS, exclusively for India.

BCCL

The vessel, INS Kalvari, a part of the total six submarines was supposed to join the Indian Navy later this year, thereby reinforcing its dwindling fleet. The rest of the submarines were supposed to be inducted into the navy 2020.

Currently India has a fleet of 13 ageing submarines, only half of which are operational at any given time.