Russia to lease Nuclear Submarine to India.

Russia will lease to India in 2010 its new Nerpa nuclear-powered submarine.Russia’s Akula class nuclear-powered attack submarine “Nerpa” will be inducted by the Russian Navy after pre-delivery trials are completed this summer, prior to its formal lease to India later this year.

The Nerpa, armed with conventional weapons, was laid down in 1993 but was launched and started sea trials only in 2008 due to the piecemeal funding of its construction.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had flown to the Komsomolsk-on-Amur – based naval shipyard and had released USD 300 million to cash-strapped defence enterprise with the orders to deliver the submarine to India by the end of this year. To be inducted as INS Chakra the Shchuka-B class (NATO name Akula-II) nuclear-powered attack submarine is a third generation submarine.

India has paid USD 650 million for the completion of the submarine & is expected to pay USD 50 million annually to the Russian Navy for its lease.The submarine would be handed over to an Indian crew in the port of Vladivostok, Russia’s military base and the main gateway to the Pacific.Russia, India’s close economic and political partner since Soviet days, is one of the world’s major arms exporters.Russia has a fleet of nuclear-powered but conventionally armed submarines besides its strategic nuclear-armed vessels, which are not sold abroad.