An Indian naval crew will take part in the final phase of pre-delivery trials of Russian Akula-II class nuclear attack submarine 'Nerpa' commencing later this month.
As per the understanding reached under the larger Gorshkov aircraft carrier deal inked in January 2004, the Nerpa nuclear submarine built at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur-based shipyard is to be leased to the Indian Navy as 'INS Chakra' for ten years.
According to officials, the Indian crew would independently operate the submarine under the supervision of Russian instructors after an intensive training by the Russian Navy.
During the earlier trial, 20 technical staff and crew were killed due to release of lethal Freon gas from fire suppression system of the submarine in the Sea of Japan on November 8, 2008, delaying its delivery by almost a year.
Sea trials were resumed on July 10 in the Sea of Japan after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin personally visited the shipyard and released $60 million for the completion and delivery of the submarine by the end of this year.
Earlier, Russian media reports suggest that India paid $650 million for a 10-year lease of the 12,000-ton K-152 Nerpa, which is similar to the indigenously-built INS Arihant developed under India's most secretive Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project.
NATO experts consider Akula-II class vessels as the quietest and deadliest of all Russian nuclear attack submarines.
Citroen Basalt (Tata Curvv Rival) Variant-Wise Prices Are Out: Full List 5km In 30 Minutes, Gym, Batting: How India Star Sarfaraz Khan Has Kept Fitness In Five Months Of No Cricket IMF's Gita Gopinath Goes Bullish On India's Economic Growth Kolkata Rape-Murder: Fractures, 150 mg Semen, Other Claims Denied By Cops LIVE: CBI Team At Kolkata Hospital For Digital Mapping Of Crime Scene Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah To Be Prosecuted In Land Scam Case Citroen Basalt (Tata Curvv Rival) Variant-Wise Prices Are Out: Full List US Supreme Court Keeps Block On Rules Protecting Transgender Students How Rupert Murdoch Helped Create A Monster - The Era Of Trumpism Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.