Russians want to dispose of a nuclear submarine leased by India
Russians are going to dispose of the K-152 Nerpa nuclear submarine. The submarine, which is a cruise missile carrier, was on loan, but India returned it due to technical problems. This is reported by Russian military media.
The K-152 Nerpa was launched in the summer of 2006 as another submarine carrying Kalibr cruise missiles. The construction cost amounted to $785 million. Almost six years after her launch, she was leased to the Indian Navy, where she was named INS Chakra.
India paid about $2 billion for the lease, but in the summer of 2021, the nuclear submarine returned to the Russian Federation. The Indian Navy decided not to wait for the lease to expire. The reason for this decision was problems with the maintenance of the nuclear submarine, in particular, with the nuclear engine.
As it turned out later, in April 2020, an explosion occurred on the K-152 Nerpa, damaging the hull, hydroacoustic equipment, and electronic weapons. For more than two years, the nuclear submarine has been in Russia awaiting repairs.
The modernization and repair of the K-152 Nerpa is considered inexpedient from a financial point of view. In this regard, the Main Command of the Navy recommends that the nuclear submarine be scrapped.
