Russia recently agreed to lease a second nuclear attack submarine worth $2 billion to India during the BRICS summit in Goa this month. Other major defense deals also were inked during the summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Here are the key take-offs from this deal:
- The Indian Navy already operates one Akula 2 class nuclear submarine, Nerpa, now called INS Chakra, which was leased by Russia for 10 years.
- It was commissioned in the navy on April 4, 2012, and its lease expires in 2021, making India reluctant to acquire the second submarine.
- The Akula 2 class submarine, while not the latest class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarine in the world, is still considered one of the most advanced.
- The Akula 2 weighs around 8,140 tons and are nuclear powered but are armed with conventional land attack missiles.
- They are considered one of the most silent SSNs in service and are capable of sailing at speeds up to 35 knots, a defining feature of the boat which makes tracking it underwater very difficult.
- Meanwhile, China has four nuclear-powered submarines in operation and in a couple of years this number that will go up to six. China’s Nuclear-submarines carry a version of the Dong Feng nuclear missile that has a range of up to 7,000 km.
- Like most other nuclear-powered submarines, its range of operations is essentially unlimited since its 190 Mega Watt nuclear power plant is unlikely to need refueling during the course of the life of the submarine.
- Like the INS Chakra, the second Akula 2 submarine being leased from Russia is likely to be based in Visakhapatnam and would have two roles – defending India’s fleet of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, and second, to track Chinese nuclear-powered attack submarines which are increasingly frequent visitors to the Indian Ocean where they are regularly deployment as part of what the Chinese say are anti-piracy missions.
- Built in the Soviet Union as the Bars Class 971, Akula 2 is the NATO reporting name for the submarines.
Meanwhile, indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant has been inducted in the navy as well amidst secrecy.
