India's nuclear-powered submarine ready

NEW DELHI, July 13 (UPI) -- If all goes as planned, India, according to various reports, will soon join the exclusive club of nations with their own domestically built nuclear-powered submarines, marking a giant leap for its naval defense.

More than 20 years in the making and until now known only as the Advanced Technology Vehicle project, the Indian navy's new nuclear-powered submarine named INS Chakra is expected to be launched in the coming weeks to begin its sea trials, the Indian Express newspaper reported.

The report said the 7,700-ton INS Chakra will undergo sea trials for several months after entering the waters of the Bay of Bengal from the Vishakhapatnam port in southeastern Andhra Pradesh state. It is designed to carry intermediate-range submarine-launched missiles that have already been tested on the eastern coast, the report said.

The INS Chakra is the first of five such nuclear-powered submarines India reportedly plans under its Advanced Technology Vessel program to complete its triad of air, land and sea-based nuclear weapons systems.

The nuclear-powered submarine is also seen as helping to strengthen the navy's presence in its traditional sea lanes in the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean and to keep its sea lines of communication open and unhindered.

The Financial Times reported the INS Chakra, which cost about $2.9 billion, is based on the Russian Akula-I class submarine. Its pressurized water reactor was developed at the atomic research center in Kalpakkam in southern Tamil Nadu state.

"This is a historic and big step forward. The project is quite indigenous and it opens the door for deploying nuclear weapons in the ocean," C. Raja Mohan, professor of south Asian studies at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, told the Financial Times.

One Indian expert told the Financial Times that China, with eight nuclear submarines and three times the number of combat vessels, is quite ahead of India.

Separately, Indian media reports said Russia had resumed pre-delivery trials this month of its Akula class nuclear submarine to be leased to the Indian navy later this year.

The Financial Times said India also is waiting to take delivery of a 30-year-old refitted Russian aircraft carrier as wells as building six French-designed Scorpene diesel submarines.