India leases Russian nuclear submarine for $2B, aiming to strengthen naval operations and train crews for future indigenous subs.

After almost ten years of negotiations, India will pay about $2 billion to lease a Russian nuclear submarine , according to persons familiar with the situation. This comes just as President Vladimir Putin is in New Delhi this week.

The persons, who asked not to be named because the talks are confidential, claimed that price negotiations had caused the lease of the assault submarine from Russia to stagnate over the years. Indian officials reportedly visited a Russian shipyard in November after the two sides reached an agreement on the contract. Despite the project’s intricacy, India anticipates receiving the vessel in two years, though this could change, they said.

Putin will travel to India for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday. To highlight the two nations’ energy and defense connections, he will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Following US President Donald Trump’s imposition of punitive tariff rates of 50% on Indian imports, Modi has taken steps in recent months to strengthen ties with China and Russia while reaffirming India’s strategic independence. As part of Trump’s effort to put pressure on India to cease purchasing Russian oil in order to exert pressure on Putin to put an end to the conflict in Ukraine, Modi’s government is presently negotiating a trade agreement to lower those duties.

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Prior to Putin’s visit, India’s Chief of Naval Staff, Dinesh K. Tripathi, informed reporters this week that the assault submarine would soon be commissioned, although he did not provide specifics. The submarine would be bigger than the two that are already in the navy’s inventory.

Emails requesting additional information were not answered by India’s Ministries of External Affairs and Defense. Requests for comment from Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense, and Rosoboronexport were similarly unanswered.

The Nuclear Threat Initiative said that India has created nuclear-capable submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), which theoretically provide it with the so-called trinity of atomic bombs that can be delivered from the air, sea, and land.

Vessels using nuclear propulsion are far superior than their diesel-electric rivals. Particularly while patrolling the wide expanses of the Indian and Pacific oceans, they are more difficult to track due to their greater size, quieter nature, and ability to remain submerged for extended periods of time. According to the NTI, India presently has 17 diesel-powered submarines.

SLBMs are carried by India’s nuclear-powered strategic deterrent submarines, which are built in the country. Additionally, India is getting ready to develop nuclear-powered assault submarines that can track down and destroy adversary surface ships and submarines.

Goals of Training

The Russian assault sub cannot be utilized in combat as per the terms of the lease. As India constructs its own ships, it would assist it in improving nuclear-boat operations and training sailors, the people added.

The Indian Navy will use the Russian-leased ship for ten years. The last Russian yacht, which was leased for ten years as well, returned in 2021, according to the people. They stated that the lease agreement would include maintenance.

Such yachts have become increasingly popular as the Indian Ocean region gains more attention. Under the AUKUS security alliance, the US, UK, and Australia are collaborating to construct comparable boats. Only a few number of countries—the US, UK, France, China, and Russia—have until to this point possessed the technology necessary to launch and run nuclear-powered submarines.

The US is also cooperating with South Korea to develop nuclear-powered submarines.

While seeking closer ties with the US, India is nonetheless upholding its long-standing ties with Moscow. By purchasing more weaponry from the US and Europe, it has decreased its dependency on Russian weapons.

Despite Trump’s criticism, Modi’s choice to rely on Russia for nuclear submarines demonstrates India’s cohesion with Moscow on important issues.

“They are Russia’s largest energy buyer with China and have purchased the vast majority of their military equipment from Russia,” Trump claimed in a July Truth Social post. In an effort to get India to cease purchasing Russian oil, the US imposed a 25% “secondary tariff” on US imports of Indian goods starting in late August.

Tripathi said that next year, India’s third ballistic missile submarine is anticipated to join the nuclear forces. India is also constructing two nuclear-powered attack submarines.