Russia and India up the nuclear ante (Dan 7:7)

 

India in talks with Russia to lease new nuclear attack submarine
8 Jul, 2015, 0615 hrs IST, Manu Pubby, ET
Signaling a difference in approach by the Modi-led government, India is now looking to lease a newly built, customised submarine.
NEW DELHI: India is in final talks with Russia to lease a new nuclear attack submarine, giving a much needed boost to its depleting underwater fleet. Signaling a difference in approach by the Modi-led government, India is now looking to lease a newly built, customised submarine, unlike in the past when older vessels were refurbished and handed over.
Several sources related to the project that ET spoke with confirmed that talks on leasing a new submarine under the ‘Chakra 3′ project are in advanced stages and that the issue will be discussed during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Russia this week.
India has the ‘Chakra 2′ Akula class nuclear submarine in service that is considered to be one of the deadliest non-US attack boats in the world. This submarine – a refurbished Soviet era boat – has been taken on a 10-year lease from Russia in 2012. ‘Chakra 1′, India’s first nuclear submarine, was taken on a similar lease in the late 1980s.
While talks on leasing a third Chakra have been on for over two years, a change of stand has taken place after the Modi government took over, with the Indian side insisting on a modern, world-class submarine on lease. The only nuclear attack submarine of this kind being produced in Russia currently is the Yasen class, the quietest, least detectable submarine it has ever built.
It is still not clear, however, whether the final contract would specify a Yasen submarine or a modified boat of the same class to suit Indian requirements. “The final shape is yet to be decided, but it is now almost certain that a ‘greenfield’ submarine will be built,” a source associated with the programme told ET.
What is clear is that India is embarking on a project to produce indigenous class of nuclear attack boats (SSNs) under new submarine programme. The plan, to build at least six SSNs in India, was given financial sanction in February and designers are already at work on the project that could cost upwards of Rs 90,000 crore.
These new submarines, to be fitted with the indigenous vertically launched Brahmos missile, are to be built at the Vizag-based ship building centre, with L&T expected to get a significant chunk of the work.
Work on making operational India’s first nuclear missile boat – different from a nuclear attack submarine is also underway with the first missile test from the submarine expected to take place this year.

Russian Nuclear Horn Extends Into Indian Ocean

Putin Ready to Lease Nuclear Submarines to India, Minister Says

By Natalie Obiko Pearson and Anurag Kotoky
December 12, 2014 6:05 AM EST

Russia said it’s ready to lease India more nuclear-powered submarines a day after President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to deepen defense ties.

“If India decides to have more contracts to lease nuclear submarines, we are ready to supply,” Russian trade minister Denis Manturov said in an interview in New Delhi today.

The vessels would bolster India’s ability to patrol its waters as it seeks to thwart China’s efforts to extend influence in the Indian Ocean. Russia, whose economy is being pushed toward a recession by sanctions over Ukraine, aims to boost defense sales and deepen its ties to friendlier nations in Asia.

“Russia will remain our most important defense partner,” Modi said yesterday after welcoming Putin to the capital. They discussed a “broad range of new defense projects,” including plans to make one of Russia’s most advanced helicopters in India, he said.

India inducted its first nuclear attack submarine from Russia for $1 billion in 2012 under a 10-year contract, which can carry out longer missions and respond faster to threats. It’s fleet of 14 diesel-power submarines are more than a decade old, with half of them commissioned in the 1980s.

“Nuclear-powered submarines have assumed far greater significance and changed the complexion of maritime warfare,” then-Defence Minister A.K. Antony said the induction ceremony.
 
China Fleet

India is seeking to build up its naval defenses amid growing maritime tensions with China. It sent a nuclear submarine to the Indian Ocean in December for a two-month anti-piracy patrol. The waters are home to shipping lanes carrying about 80 percent of the world’s seaborne oil.

China has at least 52 submarines in its fleet, including three nuclear-missile vessels and three operating on nuclear power, the U.S. Congressional Research Service said in July, citing Jane’s Fighting Ships 2013-2014 and previous editions.

India has also yet to build a single submarine of the 24 it’d planned starting in 1999, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar told parliament today. Mishaps are also common: an explosion in August 2013 on a diesel-powered submarine, just months after the vessel returned from a $133 million refit at a Russian shipyard, was the worst-ever disaster for India’s submarine program.

Putin this week pledged to supply oil, weapons and nuclear power reactors to India. Modi, in turn, reassured the Russian leader that India opposes sanctions and asked Putin to build factories in the country to supply spare parts and components for Russian military equipment.

Russia will have to quadruple its current investments of $3.7 billion in India for the two countries to meet their bilateral trade target of $30 billion by 2025, Manturov said. Reaching that target will mean India breaking into Russia’s top five trading partners, up from the current rank of 21, he said.

The two nations said they recognized “the virtually unlimited opportunities for enhancing” their defense cooperation, including joint manufacturing and technology sharing, according to a joint statement yesterday. India allows foreign direct investment in the defense sector of up to 49 percent.