India, Russia to sign $3bn lease for Akula-class submarine: Deal shows despite new partnerships, old ties hold strong

India is set to sign a deal on Thursday with Russia to lease an Akula-class submarine for the Indian Navy. The nuclear submarine — that is being called INS Chakra III — is likely to be ready, after refurbishment, by 2025 India is set to sign a deal on Thursday with Russia to lease an Akula-class submarine for the Indian Navy. The report adds, “While the mothballed nuclear submarine had been shipped to the Russian port town of Severodvinsk in 2014, sources said that it will be akin to a new vessel once ready, given the extent of work required to make it operational.” As reported by Sputnik News, it was in November last year that naval chief Admiral Sunil Lanba had “discussed with Russian authorities the co-production of a conventional submarine at Indian shipyard and leasing of an Akula-class submarine”. The Akula — Russian for shark — submarines were widely credited as being a game changer in the Cold War era, as a post on defence technology and policy blog Foxtrot Alpha points out : “With the Akula’s arrival the American submarine fleet would no longer enjoy the dramatic undersea advantages they had possessed since the end of the World War II… [It> stunned NATO with its high-level of stealth, especially compared to any Soviet submarine before it… [the> ability to make their submarines as quiet, or nearly as quiet, as American subs had long eluded them.