Submarine deal with India still on, say Russian defence experts

MOSCOW: The delivery of a Russian nuclear submarine to the Indian Navy next year may be delayed by several months because of the accident involving the vessel’s fire safety system, but the deal is still on, Russian defence experts have said.

Sea trials of the Nerpa submarine, to be leased to India, were interrupted when an accidental discharge of poisonous fire-fighting gas killed twenty and injured over 40 people aboard on November 8. Prosecutors have charged a crewmember with tampering with a temperature gauge which allegedly activated automatic fire extinguishers.

A leading Russian expert on weapon systems suggested that the sophisticated submarine control system, Molibden-I, installed on the Nerpa for the first time may have malfunctioned.

“In contrast to earlier versions, Molibden-I is a fully digital system that has not been proven yet on any other submarine. Some kind of a computer glitch cannot be ruled out,” editor of the authoritative Moscow Defence Brief magazine Mikhail Barabanov said.

The expert told The Hindu that the accident could delay the delivery of the Nerpa to the Indian Navy by several months. The submarine was to join the Indian Navy in August 2007, then the induction was rescheduled to August 2009, but that was before the accident.
Modernisation

Repeated delays may be due to a large number of new systems and technologies installed onboard the Nerpa, the latest in a series of Schucka–B or Akula-II (NATO designation) class attack submarines built in Russia. Experts refuted media reports that Russia had decided not to lease the Nerpa to India and keep it for its own Navy. The reports appeared after Chief of the Russian General Staff Nikolai Makarov said the submarine would be inducted in the Russian Navy early next year. Russian officials have consistently denied any plans to sell India a nuclear submarine.

“Induction in the Russian Navy is part of the export procedure,” said Ruslan Pukhov, director of the Centre for Analysis and Technologies, Russia’s leading arms export think tank. “The shipyard hands over a vessel to the Russian Navy, which then delivers it to the navy of the destination country.”

He ruled out the possibility of Russia pulling out of the leasing deal. In the light of the current problems with the Gorshkov aircraft carrier refit for India, cancellation of the submarine deal would deal a crushing blow to defence cooperation, Mr. Pukhov said.

“The acquisition of the Nerpa will give a quantum jump to India’s naval capabilities,” Mr. Barabanov said.