Manoj Ambat's Blog dealing with Defence, Foreign Affairs, Strategic Affairs and Politics

Akula class SSN Vepr ( Source- Wikimedia Commons / Ilya Kurganov) Source- Russia & India Report An agreement on leasing another Russian nuclear-powered submarine to India is to be signed at the Russian-Indian summit in December, a source at India’s Defense Ministry told TASS. The possibility of leasing a second submarine from Russia will be studied when India’s Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar will visit Moscow next week," the source said. "Parrikar will hold talks on this strategic project with his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoigu. After the ten-year contract is signed another two or three years will be required for upgrading the submarine in keeping with India’s requirements," he said. Over the past 45 years Russia and India have established reliable, time-tested strategic ties in the field of defence. India’s armed forces are equipped with Soviet and Russian military hardware 70%, the source said, adding that Russia had always provided its best

INS Arihant ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Indian navy) Source- Russia & India Report The India-Russia partnership has resulted in a string of successful defence projects, but none is more strategically important than INS Arihant, India’s first indigenously developed nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine. The 6000 ton Arihant, which has completed sea trials, is likely to undergo its maiden missile test-firing this month. The test will in all likelihood involve the 700 kilometre range K-15 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) or the 3,500 kilometre K-4. If successful, India will finally be able to complete its nuclear triad, giving the country’s strategic planners multiple options if it comes to a nuclear confrontation. A nuclear triad refers to the three components of atomic weapons delivery: strategic bombers, intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and SLBMs. Of the three elements of the triad, the SLBMs are considered the most importa

Yasen class SSN ( Image credits- Defence.pk) Source- Russia& India Report / Ria Novosti A modified ‘Yasen’ class submarine, Russia’s latest nuclear sub, could be built specially for India, a report in the Indian ‘Economic Times’ newspaper suggested. The ET was quoting the analyst Zachary Keck who, in an article in ‘The National Interest,’ said it was possible that the new submarine would be one of the multi-purpose ‘Yasen’ class submarines, equipped with cruise missiles, or a modification of the Yasen. According to Keck, the ET report states, India has been interested in leasing a multi-purpose attack submarine for quite a long while. This time, the Russian government has taken this interest on board and is developing a separate submarine for India. "The final details are yet to be discussed, but at present it has been practically decided that a completely new submarine will be built", the ET quotes Keck as saying, while citing an anonymous source famili

Russian Yasen class SSN ( Source- Wikimedia Commons / Credits- Kremlin) Source- The National Interest Author- Zachary Keck India and Russia are in the final stages of talks for Delhi to lease another nuclear attack submarine from Moscow. According to India’s Economic Times, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin will discuss the deal on the sidelines of the BRICS Leadership Summit currently being held in Ufa, Russia. “Several sources related to the project that ET spoke with confirmed that talks on leasing a new submarine under the 'Chakra 3' project are in advanced stages and that the issue will be discussed during Prime Minister Modi's visit to Russia this week,” the report said. There has been previous signs that India intends to lease a second Russian-built nuclear attack submarine (SSK). And, during a trip to India last year, Vladimir Putin indicated that Russia would be interested in such a deal. However, the new Economic Tim

PLAN Type-93 SSN ( Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Mike 1979 Russia) Source- The National Interest Author- Zachary Keck India is growing increasing concerned about China’s submarine deployments in the Indian Ocean, as Beijing ramps up talk of being able to blockade India with nuclear submarines. This week, the Indian-based news outlet, NDTV, cited unnamed Indian naval sources as saying that India’s Navy is worried by China’s increasingly frequent submarine deployments in the Indian Ocean. In September 2013, China confirmed for the first time that a nuclear attack submarine would transit the Indian Ocean on its way to carry out the international anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden. This was followed by submarines docking in the Chinese-funded Colombo port of Sri Lanka twice last year. The first docking, back in September 2014, was a Song-class diesel-electric attack submarine. However, seven weeks later a Type 091 Han-class nuclear-powered submari

Type- 093G SSN ( Image credits- Want China Times) Source- The Diplomat Author- Franz Stefan- Gady The Chinese Navy in in the process of commissioning three new nuclear-powered attack submarines, according to China Daily. The report, quoted on the website Defense Tech, furthermore notes that the new vessels will be equipped with a new vertical launching system capable of firing supersonic anti-ship missiles. The “new” SSNs are in fact, upgraded versions of the Type-093 Shang-class second-generation nuclear-powered attack submarines, two of which are currently in service in the People’s Liberation Army Navy. The upgrades are designated Type-093G. “The Type-093G is reported to be an upgraded version of Type-093… With a teardrop hull, the submarine is longer than its predecessor and has a vertical launching system,” China Daily said. However, the Chinese PLAN could also choose to re-designate the ships as Type-095 SSGNs, should all public reports on the vessel pr

INS Chakra ( Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Credits- Ajai Shukla) Source- The National Interest Author- David Brewster While the world focuses on the dangers that a nuclear-armed Iran could present in the Middle East, a potentially more dangerous and unstable nuclear proliferation is occurring in the Indian Ocean. In the coming years India, Pakistan, and perhaps China will likely deploy a significant number of nuclear weapons at sea in the Indian Ocean. This could further destabilize already unstable nuclear relationships, creating a real risk of a sea-based exchange of nuclear weapons. Observers have long seen India-Pakistan nuclear rivalry as the most unstable in the world, and South Asia as the most likely location of nuclear conflict. This is not just academic speculation. Foreign diplomats have been evacuated from Islamabad on several occasions from fears of an impending nuclear exchange with India. India has a “no first use” (NFU) nuclear-weapons pol