Indian Navy Prefers Renting Russian Akula-Class Nuclear Submarines

India operates Russian nuclear submarines (Akula attack subs) as part of its Navy and prefers Soviet equipment over anything else. The US recently offered its hardware to New Delhi, but the offer has not received any interest.

India Trusts Russia, Not America

After achieving independence from Britain with the conclusion of the Second World War, the Indian Navy used several used warships, including an aircraft carrier, reported India Defense News.

Some of these boats are ex-Royal Navy ships, though the present flagship is the INS Vikramaditya. The warship is a Soviet-era Kiev-class aircraft cruiser bought from Russia in 2004. Other combat sea-going vessels operated by Indians are submarines.

From 1988 to 1991, leasing their initial ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) of Soviet origin, and in 2019 when New Delhi inked a $3 billion contract for renting an Akula-1-class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) for ten years, cited 19FortyFive.

It took two years to reach a deal with Moscow for the price and particulars of the Russian nuclear submarines included in the rental deal.

The deal negotiated will have the sub delivered and designated the Chakra III to be returned after 2025. Soon after renting the first one, another attack submarine was arranged from Moscow, and it needed to field two carrier battlegroups. This year, the carrier Vikrant, built in India, will be commissioned by the Indian Navy should all go smoothly.

Delhi's Maritime Forces in the Indian Ocean

These Russian SSNs will be accompanying four Arihant-class subs, and they will be part of India's carrier strike force, which is expected to bolster the nation's troops by the end of 2020.

These Russian-made Akula-class are made for extended times staying submerged, although the only limit is how much supplies the crew has till it needs to resurface.

Capable of getting equipped with a range of tactical arms, torpedoes, even ship killer cruise missiles, missiles for land assault through no supplying of long-range nuclear missiles due to international treaties.

These submarines are not on missions for deterrence patrols as they are used for other tasks. It is uncertain whether Russia's war in Ukraine will impact the transfer of the Chakra-III or whether Moscow can deliver a second SSN.

Akula-class Feared by the West

A sub designed late in the 70s and further developed at the start of the 80s, the class has a double made up of an inner pressure hull and an outer "light" hull, noted Army Global.

Its exterior hull allows the sub to have more reserve buoyancy compared to western equivalents of the ear. About fifteen of the twenty boats planned for construction were done by the Amur Shipbuilding Plant Joint Stock Company, with Sevmash at the Severodvinsk shipbuilding yard.

Although five more of the hulls were ready to be built, several were canceled while getting built. Two hulls were used to create the Borei-class nuclear-powered ballistic submarines: Yury Dolgoruky and Alexander Nevsky.

In the years from 1986 to 1992, when Seven Akula-I class boats were commissioned, three were in service between 1992 and 1995. But other ships were canceled due to a Russian economic crisis.

India considers military hardware like Russian nuclear submarines for their naval forces more preferred even in aircraft and prefers Soviet despite US offers.