India gets nuclear submarine in its fleet

(Will be updating pics soon)

The veil was taken off the country’s newly acquired lethal, stealthiest and ultimate weapon – the nuclear propelled attack submarine - on Wednesday as India inducted Russian-built INS Chakra in its fleet.

Capable of cruising high speeds, remaining submerged infinitely, hoodwinking the enemy’s Sonars and packed with potent firepower, Chakra has made India the 6th nation in the world capable of operating nuclear submarine after the US, UK, Russia, China and France.  

The unmatched increase in Indian Navy’s maritime prowess can be gauged from the fact that unlike the conventional submarines that need to surface every day to recharge their batteries, Chakra did not surface even once during its two month long voyage from Russia to the eastern coast of India - negotiating through South China Sea. INS Ranjit was sailing along the submarine to bring it home.

“INS Chakra will increase our flexibility and capability immensely,” Indian Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma said during the induction ceremony of the potent platform.

Roughly four times the size of the conventional submarines presently in the Indian Navy, Chakra is considered to be one of the stealthiest and deadliest submarines in the world. The induction underlines India’s ambition to mark a stronger presence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and covert projection beyond India’s maritime borders.

Defence Minister AK Antony while inducting the submarine said: “As peace and stability in the region are crucial to peace in the world at large, it is imperative that the Indian Navy maintains a strong, stabilizing and credible naval presence in the region.”

The nuclear submarine has already sparked concerns of arms race from Pakistan Naval Chief. The Defence Minister also sought to brush aside any such implications. “India does not believe in arms race. We are not confrontationists but peace loving nation…. I wish to strongly emphasise that our naval presence is not at all directed against any nation, but only to act as a stabilizing force and protect our strategic interests.”

INS Chakra has been bought on a 10 years lease from Russia in $ 920 million deal that has been kept under wraps for years now.

The Indian Defence Ministry continues to publicly not acknowledge the deal signed with Russia in January 2004. But, it figured in the agenda of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his last Russia visit. The submarine’s construction was nearly 86 percent complete in the Amur Shipyard in 1991 when the Soviet Union disintegrated, leaving the facility cash strapped. After over a decade, India agreed to provide the necessary funding in lieu of a ten year lease of the vessel.

The Akula class Nerpa nuclear-submarine, to be rechristened ‘INS Chakra’ after Lord Krishna’s invincible weapon Sudarshan Chakra will be based in Visakhapatnam on the Eastern coast which will be its home base. The last sub the Indian Navy had commissioned from the Soviet Union was also named INS Chakra. As per naval tradition, old ships don’t die or fade away. They simply reincarnate themselves.

The nuclear reactor powering the submarine means that INS Chakra can even do without refueling in its lifetime. However, what makes it different from the conventional submarines is that the nearly 100 crew members have to wear a “dosey meter” that keeps check of the radiation imbibed by their bodies. Besides that the crew comfort in the submarine are excellent. Unlike the conventional submarines where cramped spaces restrict movement, Chakra has an inbuilt gym and sauna facilities for them.

The vessel will be primarily used to train Indian sailors to operate nuclear submarines as India will soon be inducting the indigenous vessel INS Arihant (Destroyer of Enemy) into the navy. Work on the second home-built nuclear submarine named INS Aridaman has also begun.

The Indian Navy has been waiting for INS Chakra for a while. The delivery was scheduled in 2008 but on November 8 the same year, a fire on board caused the death of 20 people —mostly civilians —when fire-suppressant gas was released inside the submarine.