The government of India is currently investigating into the massive leak of more than 22,000 pager document that spilled the secrets of six submarines to be built by the Indian Navy, compromising one of the biggest defense projects of the world.
The news was first leaked by ‘The Austalian’ newspaper that included information about the technology used in designing the Scorpene submarines. The 3.5 billion dollars project was given to DCNS – French Defense on contract. This class of submarine is so silent that it is extremely hard to detect it underwater giving it the edge of stealth. But the leaked documents now show detail of the submarines’ sonar capabilities, communications system, combat and torpedo launch systems as well as the noise they generate.
“What I understand right now is that there is a case of hacking,” said Indian Minister of Defense Manohar Parrikar in a report. “We have asked the Indian naval chief to investigate the matter and give a detailed report about the leak.”
The defense ministry of India has stated that the leak has come from outside of India. The first of the six submarines was built in Mazagon shipyard in Mumbai and was named Kalvari. While Kalvari will begin operating this year, the rest five will be delivered by DCNS by 2020.
The document posted online by The Australian was redacted and contained numerous technical drawings and manuals of operation. The document “Scorpene India” also included the noise levels produced by the submarine which is a highly sensitive information. If the noise made by a submarine is known, it can be easily detected underwater and this would be nothing less than a nightmare for the navy.
The leak has not only damaged Indian defense system but Malaysia, Brazil, Chile, Australia are affected too as they all have ordered the same version of Scorpene. Unlike the constant defense budget in Europe, the defense budget of Asian countries is constantly increasing by 5% every year.
How will this leak affect Indian defense? Let us know in the comments section.