Indian Navy Commissions Nuclear Submarine


INS Chakra (formerly Russian K-152 Nerpa)
From India Today:

India's silent service has just got its biggest boost in over 20 years. The arrival of INS Chakra -- an 8,000 ton sea monster -- could not have come a moment sooner.

The Russian-built nuclear-powered submarine would operate with the Indian Navy for 10 years and provide the country's arsenal a thumping new capability. Not just as a weapons platform, but a laboratory to study the intricate science of nuclear submarine warfare.

Shrouded in secrecy for years, India Today scooped the first video footage of the submarine days before the silent killer formally joins Indian Navy on April 4. The clip taken from a crew boat approaching the submarine off the Vladivostok coast and from on board the submarine itself provides a distinctive sense of this immense beast.

The commissioning of the attack submarine heralds a new beginning for the Indian Navy. After over two decades, India now steps back into an elite club of countries -- the United States, Russia, France, China and the United Kingdom -- that operate nuclear submarines.

India reportedly paid $650 million for the sub.