The Scorpene submarine data leak is not a big worry because the documents published by English newspaper The Australian do not reveal details of the weapon system, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Friday. The Union minister, however, said that "there are a few pockets of concern" as his ministry is "assuming the worst case scenario", reported ANI. More than 22,000 pages of top secret data on the submarines, designed by French defence contractor DCNS, has been leaked, the publication had reported on Wednesday.
Parrikar said, "I have told them [the Indian Navy] based on inputs to find out the area of concern and take appropriate steps to address it." According to him, the Scorpene submarine has yet to be out to sea trials, and hence the most important signature is missing from the documents. He also said that he has this comes only a day after the Indian Navy said the documents that the classified information made public on the combat capabilities of the submarines did not compromise security because all crucial parameters regarding the vessels had been censored.
The Navy is also conducting an internal audit to eliminate the possibility of any security compromise. The Director General for Armament of France took up the matter after they were requested to give the investigation priority and share their findings with India.
Moreover, a high-level committee set up by the Defence Ministry is assessing the potential impact there might be if the information contained in the documents is compromised. Parrikar had ordered an investigation into the matter soon after he learned of the documents. Within a day, an inquiry concluded that the information was not shared from India.
French firm DCNS had said the data leak may have been part of an economic warfare strategy against the defence contractor. India had ordered six Scorpene submarines worth $3 billion (Rs 20,000 crore approximately). The first batch had started undergoing trials in May, and the first of the submarines – INS Kalvari – was expected to be inducted into the Navy in November.
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