 "A man cycles past a hoarding with images of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of Putin's visit, in New Delhi. Reuters")
Please note: The Press Information Bureau has issued a fact check on the report, saying that the claim made in this headline is “misleading”. “No new deal has been signed between India and Russia. The submarine lease is based on an old contract that was signed in March 2019. There has been a delay in the delivery, and the new delivery is scheduled for 2028,” it said.
Ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India, New Delhi has signed $2 billion deal with Moscow to lease a nuclear-powered submarine.
According to a report by Bloomberg, the deal was stalled over price negotiations and now with an agreement in place, the date of delivery has also been finalised. Indian officials had even visited a Russian shipyard last month as part of the deal.
Sources told the news outlet that India will receive the delivery of the nuclear submarine within two years, although the dates might change owing to the complexity of the agreement.
Quick Reads
View AllAhead of Putin’s visit, India’s Chief of Naval Staff, Dinesh K. Tripathi, told reporters this week that the attack submarine’s commissioning is expected soon, though he did not share further details. The new vessel will be larger than the two submarines currently in the navy’s fleet.
How will the submarine be used?
The terms of the lease say that the submarine cannot be used in war situations and can only be deployed to train sailors and refine nuclear-boat operations.
The Russian-leased vessel will be stationed in India for 10 years by the Indian Navy. The sources said that the last time Russia leased a boat to India was returned in 10 years in 2021.
Nuclear-powered submarines offer major advantages over diesel-electric ones: they are generally larger, can remain submerged for far longer periods, and operate more quietly, making them harder to detect, particularly across the expansive Indian and Pacific oceans. India currently has 17 diesel-powered submarines in service, according to a report by the Nuclear Threat Initiative.
India-Russia trade
Putin arrives in New Delhi today for the 23rd Annual India–Russia Summit, where defence cooperation is expected to take centre stage. Discussions are set to cover potential follow-on orders for the S-400 system, exploratory talks on the S-500, and proposals related to the Su-57 fighter.
In a parallel development, India has finalised a $946 million sustainment agreement with the United States for its fleet of 24 MH-60R “Seahawk” naval helicopters.
Defence officials from both nations will review a broad slate of ongoing and future programmes, with a particular focus on air-defence capabilities, fighter-aircraft upgrades, and naval collaboration. A key item on the agenda is continued cooperation on the S-400 Triumf long-range air-defence system.
Following the system’s performance during Operation Sindoor, the Ministry of Defence approved the acquisition of a substantial inventory of S-400 surface-to-air missiles in October, including variants with ranges of 120, 200, 250, and 380 kilometres.