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| India-Pakistan |
| The Mythical Indian SSN Goes to Sea |
| 2006-07-06 |
| July 6, 2006: The long rumored, but much denied, deal for Indian to lease one, or two, Russian Akula II class nuclear attack subs, is hot news once more. That's because one of the Akula II subs, the Nerpa, was recently launched at the Russian Pacific shipyards. The Nerpa will be completed and undergo sea trials next year. In 2002, the stories began to appear, that India was leasing one, or two, Russian nuclear attack submarines (SSN). Eventually, both India and Russia denied the deal, which was promptly renamed as "a secret deal." The term of the lease was said to be ten years. The Akula II class boat, which was being built in a yard near the Chinese border, was 85 percent complete in 2004, and, at the time, it was said that the boat would be turned over to India in 2007. In the meantime, Indian submariners are supposed to be undergoing training, in secret. There have been stories of Indian sailors spotted at Russian naval bases. Construction of new Akula II subs was stalled, in the 1990s, for lack of cash, and the story was that the Indians are now supplying the cash to complete construction. Russia introduced the Akula class subs in 1984, and has continued building them and upgrading the design. The 10,600 ton Akula II is considered roughly equivalent to the 6,900 ton American Los Angeles class (which first appeared in the 1970s). There are ten Akulas in service, and six more under construction. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #8 Indian SSN (the ATV project) good news Massive Heart Burn attack headed for the Chinese and Paks! |
| Posted by: RD 2006-07-06 22:36 |
| #7 Speculation is that the SSN (or rather SSGN) may be followed by a small SSBN as confidence over the technology increases. |
| Posted by: john 2006-07-06 22:02 |
| #6 The real Indian SSN (the ATV project) is being constructed by the Indian heavy engineering firm Larsen and Toubro at its Hazira shipyard. This web page has two very interesting photos with technology being developed for the Indian boat. The first looks suspiciously like a launch tube for a ballistic missile. The second is a sign above the shed door that says "Sagarika". Sagarika is the Indian long range land attack cruise missile project. LAUNCHING PLATFORMS FOR PROJECT K-15 |
| Posted by: john 2006-07-06 18:25 |
| #5 PS: Remember, too, that the current batch of US submarines, the 724-Class, is at least 30% better (quieter, longer-ranged, better-armed, etc.) than the 688-Class, which the Akula ALMOST equals. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2006-07-06 18:21 |
| #4 The Akula is one of the best boats the Russians have built. It's not quite up to LA (688) Class, but far superior to anything else in use outside the United States. If it transits submerged, the Chinese won't even know it. Of course, we will, and we'll probably follow it all the way to port... |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2006-07-06 18:20 |
| #3 In the US Navy, submariners get "sub pay". In the Russian Navy they call it "childlessness pay". One story I heard was that the hookers wouldn't have anything to do with the Russian (Soviet at the time) sub sailors - they were all bald, and the hookers assumed they had some kind of disease. |
| Posted by: Rambler 2006-07-06 17:14 |
| #2 Yea not a place for human I understand. Reactor shieling is poor. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2006-07-06 16:32 |
| #1 It's a nuke boat, and the Russians don't have a good record building them. Unless you like glowing in the dark. I'd bet on a Chinese arranged accident before the boat reaches Indian waters. |
| Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2006-07-06 11:34 |