Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, March 7

In a significant move indicating India’s re-energised military equipment partnership with Russia, the two countries today inked a deal for the lease of a nuclear-powered Akula-class attack submarine from Moscow.

Having leased its first nuclear submarine from Russia in 1988, India is already operating INS Chakra—inducted in 2012 — on a 10-year contract. New Delhi also has self-built INS Arihant, a nuclear-tipped missile carrying vessel, and INS Arighat.

The latest submarine from Russia is to cost around $3 billion (Rs 21,000 crore) and is expected to arrive in five years. It would be fitted with indigenous communication systems and sensors.

Watched curiously across the globe, today’s deal with Russia would be the fourth major agreement over the past six months and fifth in last two years. In October last year, New Delhi ignored the US threat of sanctions and went ahead to procure S-400 ‘Triumf’ air defence missile system from Russia for Rs 39,000 crore. In the same month, Delhi signed contracts to purchase four Admiral Grigorovich-class stealth frigates for around Rs 6,700 crore.

This week, India and Russia started the joint production of AK- 203 rifles in Amethi. The armed forces need some 7 lakh of these at a cost of around Rs 12,000 crore and the requirement could shoot up to 20 lakh once the central armed police forces, too, submit their orders. In 2016, Russia signed a pact for the joint manufacturing of 200 Kamov 226-T helicopters in India.