- India has signed a $ 3.3 billion deal with Russia to take third Akula-class nuclear-powered submarine on lease for 10 years.The submarine is expected to join the Indian Navy by 2025.It will be fitted with Indian systems to validate them for the indigenous submarines.
- The submarine will be called Chakra-3 and will replace Chakra-2, whose 10 years lease is set to expire by 2022.However, the lease of Chakra-2 is expected to be extended for another five years to have sufficient time for the Chakra-3 to come on board.
- Akula-class nuclear powered Submarine(SSNs) are a part of the navy’s combat fleet.They are propelled by a nuclear reactor, but do not carry nuclear weapons.These vessels can remain underwater for months,making them almost impossible to detect and are a big deterrence for enemy vessels in the region.Their weapons load consists of land attack and anti-ship missiles, and torpedoes to sink enemy shipping.
- India has also indigenously designed and built a nuclear-propelled,nuclear ballistic missile submarine (SSBN),called INS Arihant.They are armed with nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles that are the underwater leg of nuclear Triad.Nuclear triad means the capability of delivering nuclear weapons by aircraft,land based ballistic missiles and submarine launched missiles.
