Indian Navy to lease second Akula class submarine - Iribis

[Neil]

India and Russia are to shortly begin negotiations on the lease of a second nuclear attack submarine for the Indian Navy. The second boat likely to be the completed might be Iribis, an Akula that was only half constructed but abandoned as a result of paucity of funds.

The recently leased Akula class submarine - INS Chakra II, currently in service with the Navy's eastern fleet has been on nearly non-stop patrol since its induction in April last year, and the Navy is reported to be very satisfied with its capabilities and performance.

Tentatively christened INS Chakra III, the new submarine will be another advanced variant of the Akula class submarines that are capable of spending months under water. It is likely to be equipped with more lethal weaponry, including a vertically launched Brahmos missile system.


The submarine is to be reconstructed around the hull of the Iribis, a Russian Akula class submarine that was never completed as funds became scarce in the late nineties. Vladimir Dorofeev, head of the Malachite Design Bureau, said that the new submarine could also benefit from the design efforts that Russia had put in its latest class of Yasen nuclear-powered attack submarines.



Defence Blog - Satyamev Jayate: Indian Navy to lease second Akula class submarine - Iribis

 

[bose]

Very good ideas to give some fill ups to falling submarine fleet... should have thought of it much earlier"¦

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Nuclear submarine fleet is becoming reality..

 

[trackwhack]

Very good ideas to give some fill ups to falling submarine fleet... should have thought of it much earlier"¦

No, it was wise that we played with the first one before committing to the second.

 

[bose]

No, it was wise that we played with the first one before committing to the second.

These russian submarines are well engineered and tested for years... earlier India already had a good experience with nuclear submarine from Russia... I would say India should explore possibilities to get more such attack submarines from Russia if possible...

 

[Neil]

really interesting stuff is that it might have some characteristics of yasen class....

The vessel's design is claimed to be state-of-the-art. The Yasen-class nuclear submarine is presumed to be armed with cruise missiles, with several types suggested, but not limited to the 3M51 Alfa SLCM, the P-800 Oniks SLCM or the RK-55 Granat SLCM.[5] It will also have 8 x 650 mm and 2 x 533 mm tubes as well as mines and anti-ship missiles such as the RPK-7.
The hull is constructed from low-magnetic steel and is divided into nine watertight compartments. The class allegedly has a partial double hull, the forward part (compartments 1-4) being of a single hull design and the aft part (compartments 5-9) being a double hull design.[32]
This class is the first Russian submarine to be equipped with a spherical sonar, designated as Irtysh-Amfora. The device (allegedly the Irtysh/Amfora sonar system) was tested on a modified Yankee class submarine.[33][34] The sonar system consists of a spherical bow array, flank arrays and a towed array. Due to the large size of this spherical array, the torpedo tubes are slanted.[35] However, some sources are not convinced that the device was indeed installed on the first-of-class.[36] The submarine has a crew of about 90, suggesting a high degree of automation in the submarine's different systems. The newest U.S. attack sub, the Virginia-class submarine, has a crew of 134 in comparison.
Yasen-class submarines will be the first Russian SSNs/SSGNs equipped with a fourth generation nuclear reactor.[37] The reactor will allegedly have a 25-30 year core life and will not have to be refueled.[38]
A VSK rescue pod is carried in the sail.[11]

 

[Abhijeet Dey]

These russian submarines are well engineered and tested for years... earlier India already had a good experience with nuclear submarine from Russia... I would say India should explore possibilities to get more such attack submarines from Russia if possible...

Or India should build more Akula class submarines in its own shipyards in the coming future. 200 MW reactor is required.

Propulsion of Akula class submarine (source: Wikipedia):
1. 1 190 MW OK-650B/OK-650M pressurized water nuclear reactor
2. 1 OK-7 steam turbine 43,000 hp (32 MW)
3. 2 OK-2 Turbo generators producing 2,000 kW
4. 1 seven-bladed propeller
5. 2 OK-300 retractable electric propulsors for low-speed and quiet maneuvering at 5 knots (6 km/h)

 

[nirranj]

The sides were tight-lipped on the issue of India acquiring a second nuclear submarine from Russia, but the sources confirmed that Moscow was willing to lease another Akula class submarine if India paid for completing its construction. The submarine has been lying half-built at the Amur Shipyard in the Russian Far East since it was mothballed in the 1990s for lack of funds.

Russia to hand over Vikramaditya on Nov. 15 - The Hindu

 

[Armand2REP]

That is all well and good, but is India allowed to use them in combat? The original agreement was for training purposes.

 

[drkrn]

That is all well and good, but is India allowed to use them in combat? The original agreement was for training purposes.

russia won't mind even when we use it at war.no restrictions.

more over we have a secret agreement in between two nations ,bounded by that we have to mutually cooperate during war

 

[Abhijeet Dey]

Is the second leased akula class submarine named Iribis being built at Amur Shipyards?

 

[Abhijeet Dey]

That is all well and good, but is India allowed to use them in combat? The original agreement was for training purposes.

The Russian Navy's Akula-II can be equipped with 28 nuclear-capable cruise missiles with a striking range of 3,000 km, the Indian version is reportedly expected to be armed with the 300 km range 3M-54 Klub nuclear-capable missiles. Missiles with ranges greater than 300 km cannot be exported due to arms control restrictions, since Russia is a signatory to the MTCR treaty.

LINK:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akula_class_submarine

 

[sayareakd]

That is all well and good, but is India allowed to use them in combat? The original agreement was for training purposes.

 

[W.G.Ewald]

Tentatively christened INS Chakra III, the new submarine will be another advanced variant of the Akula class submarines that are capable of spending months under water. It is likely to be equipped with more lethal weaponry, including a vertically launched Brahmos missile system.

Brahmos has been tested in vertical launch mode, so how much more work to be done to equip this sub?

Also, where does IN get training in nuclear propulsion?

 

[Dinesh_Kumar]

We promise yoo it will only be used for training purposes and nothing else.

That is all well and good, but is India allowed to use them in combat? The original agreement was for training purposes.

 

[bengalraider]

Brahmos has been tested in vertical launch mode, so how much more work to be done to equip this sub?

Also, where does IN get training in nuclear propulsion?

I believe that the Irbis is only partially built at the moment, construction of the hull had been stopped due to lack of funds sometime in the 90's and the money we will pay the Russians will go into completion of the sub and the fact it is only partly built wil aid in the integration with new systems like the VLS for the Brahmos, as for a timeframe i'd say a couple of years at least.

Akula Class - Project 971

I belive the IRBIS is the second unnamed Akula 2 hull in the FAS page

We have had extensive training programs with the Russians in matters of nuclear propulsion starting with the first "Chakra" in the late 80's.

India has had experience leasing a nuclear-powered submarine: from 1988 to 1991 it leased a Project 670 Skat (NATO name Charlie I) class nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine from the Soviet Union, the K-43 (renamed Chakra while in Indian service). The reactors were operated by a Soviet crew and the vessel was returned to the Soviet Union. [26] In order to gain further experience operating nuclear submarines, India has begun the ten-year lease of a Russian Project 971 Schuka-B (NATO designation Akula II) class vessel, a deal costing the country an estimated USD 920 million. [27] In preparation for the lease, around 300 Indian personnel underwent training at a special facility in Sosnovy Bor, near St. Petersburg.

India Submarine Capabilities | Articles | NTI Analysis | NTI
There is a rumored dry land nuclear sub mock up somewhere in this great nation that is reportedly used for training, where exactly remains a state secret.

 

[Bheeshma]

Iribis would be welcome addition if they can complete it and hand it over by 2017-18.

 

[bengalraider]

found some pics of an incomplete project 971 Akula 2 taken sometime in 2002, apparently the IRBIS
пр.971 - AKULA | MilitaryRussia.Ru — отечественная военная техника (после 1945г.)

2008-2009, - In the Russian Navy submarines pr.971 12, at 6 item in the SF and PF. - May 11, 2009 - During the visit of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at the Amur Shipyard JSC was examined by an unfinished housing serial number 519 ("Irbis "). Stated that the case is, "stack" is, the equipment, there is no order to the PLA Navy.

This boat looks like it needs at least a couple of years work before it can be put to sea for testing commissioning will probably only come in another 4 odd years.

 

[Bheeshma]

of course it will take 4-5 years to get it to IN. But it would be a very potent addition.