New Delhi has clinched a deal with Moscow for the lease of a Russian nuclear-powered attack submarine for the Indian Navy, the Times of India reports.
The newspaper cited military sources as saying that under the March 7 deal, worth more than three billion dollars, Russia is due to deliver an Akula class submarine, to be known as Chakra III, to the Indian Navy by 2025.
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The Indian Navy leases two other nuclear-powered submarines from Russia, with the lease of Chakra II set to expire in 2022.
“INS Chakra’s existing lease will be extended until at least 2025 through another contract, until the new submarine, which will be bigger and more advanced than it, becomes operational,” one of the sources said.
The sources added that the Thursday deal was inked despite the threat of US financial sanctions against India which continue to loom over its contract for the purchase of Russian S-400 missile systems.
India signed a $5.43 billion deal to purchase five Russian S-400 Triumf mobile units during a bilateral annual summit in October.
The United States has voiced its concern over India's plans to purchase the S-400s, noting that sanctions over the deal could not be ruled out.