Australian media reported on over 22,000 pages of the leaked data, which contained several documents on the Scorpene submarines designed by French company DCNS.
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The Australian Newspaper reported that 22,400 pages of leaked documents could prove t be a blessing for India’s rivals. “The available information is being examined at Integrated Headquarters, Ministry of Defence (Navy) and an analysis is being carried out by the concerned specialists”, it said. “So we will find out all this”, Parrikar told reporters in Delhi.
“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”.
Facing trouble over the leaks of highly sensitive data detailing nearly every aspect of the combat capability of India’s Scorpene-class submarine, the Indian Navy has taken up the matter with Director General of Armament of the French Government.
Australian Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne said in a statement the leak “has no bearing on the Australian government’s future submarine programme”.
The six submarines are now under construction in a Naval shipyard in Mumbai, with the first set to go into service by the end of 2016. “We have asked the Indian naval chief to investigate the matter and give a detailed report about the leak”.
The Indian government signed a $3.5 bn deal with French manufacturer DCNS to build six Scorpene submarines. The massive leak has also raised doubts about the security of DCNS’s submarine project in Australia where it won $38.06 billion contract to build the next generation of the submarines.
French Ambassador to India Alexandre Ziegler said authorities in France are taking the leak of data very seriously and that they will work in close cooperation with India.
The leaked documents list out the frequencies at which the submarines gather intelligence and the levels of noise the subs make at various speeds, the news report said. Will the Indian government ever want national security to be threatened in any way?
The first of the Scorpene class submarines -Kalvari, being built in India went for sea trials in May, 2016 and is expected to be inducted in the Indian Navy soon.
Meanwhile, DCNS said that it could not immediately authenticate the documents.
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Parrikar has sought a report on the extent of damage following the leak, which, he said, appeared to be an incident of “hacking”.
