'India's secret N-submarine project nearing completion'

[ksxyboy]

Even if Some other Country will give us anti Submarine Technology or Submarine to counter indian Threat, Indians will leave no Card unturned in order to cancel that Deal.

I think it's time we call in the bug exterminator, quite alot of useless one-liners from certain Indians make this discussion useless.
Also, Jaishriram, if you've come to this board with the mentality of Pakistan being the enemy, then I can tell that you won't last long as a member of PDF.
Please adjust the quality of your posts, this is a mature defence forum, not a BRK like forum.

look who is talking & what ???

 

[ksxyboy]

We counter India or Try to Counter India in each and every Field.

Regarding indian IQ Funny Indeed. Have you heard about Pakistani Who got 23 A level Subjects at the same time.

Have you heard about the Pakistani who got his MCSC at the age of 9.

Have you heard about a Pakistani who got CCNA and CCNP at the age of 10

Have you heard about the Pakistani how produced a new Internet explorer.

Have you heard about the Pakistani Brothers who made world's first Virus.

and the List Goes On...............

Indian Economy: Our Economy is quite suitable for Our needs and as compared to size of our Country Allhamudulillah we are ok. Pakistan is Included in the Group on Next 11 emerging Countries for your Kind Information. Get over your dream that Pakistani Economy is even worse than Zimbabwe.

Indian Humanity: Sorry you are not our Role Model in this case and we don't wanna Compete with you in this field thank you very Much, we have seen your Humanity many Times.



India had ready Made infrastructure and Pakistan had Nothing still we evolved and today we are at Par with you. Its the western Propaganda that Calls Pakistan a Failed state without knowing the reality on the ground, conditions in Pakistan are not that Bad as they are projected n the media.

I think India has done lot of advancement and Progress BUT there are some cases where Pakistan wont want to Compete with India Like "How India is making Soft Drinks using Cow's PISS"

Have a look at this thread

http://www.defence.pk/forums/member...w-urine-soft-drink-post300783.html#post300783

This is a Thread about Defence for your Kind Information.

Don't try to derail the topic because this is what you Indians are best at and please stick to the Topic.

Dear metalfalcon,

with due respect, should I answer ???

 

[zombie:-)]

We counter India or Try to Counter India in each and every Field.

Regarding indian IQ Funny Indeed. Have you heard about Pakistani Who got 23 A level Subjects at the same time.

Have you heard about the Pakistani who got his MCSC at the age of 9.

Have you heard about a Pakistani who got CCNA and CCNP at the age of 10

Have you heard about the Pakistani how produced a new Internet explorer.

Have you heard about the Pakistani Brothers who made world's first Virus.

and the List Goes On...............

Indian Economy: Our Economy is quite suitable for Our needs and as compared to size of our Country Allhamudulillah we are ok. Pakistan is Included in the Group on Next 11 emerging Countries for your Kind Information. Get over your dream that Pakistani Economy is even worse than Zimbabwe.

Indian Humanity: Sorry you are not our Role Model in this case and we don't wanna Compete with you in this field thank you very Much, we have seen your Humanity many Times.



India had ready Made infrastructure and Pakistan had Nothing still we evolved and today we are at Par with you. Its the western Propaganda that Calls Pakistan a Failed state without knowing the reality on the ground, conditions in Pakistan are not that Bad as they are projected n the media.

I think India has done lot of advancement and Progress BUT there are some cases where Pakistan wont want to Compete with India Like "How India is making Soft Drinks using Cow's PISS"

Have a look at this thread

http://www.defence.pk/forums/member...w-urine-soft-drink-post300783.html#post300783

This is a Thread about Defence for your Kind Information.

Don't try to derail the topic because this is what you Indians are best at and please stick to the Topic.

MODS WHY IS HE NOT BANNED THIS IS NOT FAIR NOW I AM STARTING TO FEEL THOSE BUG EXTERMINATORS ARE FOR GUYS WID INDIAN FLAGS ON THEIR PROFILES ...THIS IS SAD

 

[AK-47]

MODS WHY IS HE NOT BANNED THIS IS NOT FAIR NOW I AM STARTING TO FEEL THOSE BUG EXTERMINATORS ARE FOR GUYS WID INDIAN FLAGS ON THEIR PROFILES ...THIS IS SAD

I have feeling that this site may to be fair to Indian members. When you say something negetive about Pakistani forces, you get banned for trolling. Which you should if you can't backup your statement. But If Pakistani members does that to Indian forces, he doesn't get banned for trolling when they can't backup thier statements. Plus this site does not have Indian flag either. But this site is better than other forrum sites who loyal to thier bias cause.

 

[Screaming Skull]

I am starting this thread for news and discussion on India's indigenous nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) and related developments.

I am posting some news reports of important developments on this project from 2004 till date.

 

[Screaming Skull]

Retired vice admiral, AK Singh, may head the navy's nuclear submarine (ATV) project​

19 May 2007

New Delhi: India's nuclear-powered submarine (SSN) programme, also commonly referred to as the advanced technology vessel (ATV) project, is expected to get a new chief sometime in the coming months. The most likely replacement for vice admiral PC Bhasin, the current director general of the highly classified ATV project, will be vice admiral AK Singh, recently retired FOC-in-C of the Indian Navy's eastern naval command, according to defence officials who did not wish to be quoted.

The ATV project, it is now being revealed, has been directly under the prime minister's oversight, and has so far been headed by retired naval officers. This subterfuge has allowed the navy, and the country's defence establishment, to feign ignorance about the existence of such a project.

Admiral AK Singh is a submariner, who, in his previous commands, has also headed the country's only tri-service Andaman and Nicobar command as well as the Coast Guard.
He also commanded the INS Chakra, the former Soviet Charlie-I class SSN, which the Indian navy leased for three years till 1991 in order to gain operational experience with nuclear powered submarines.

Reports now have it that the ATV project may be commissioned around 2011-12, following sea trials that may occur a couple of years earlier, in the 2009-11 period.

Vice admiral Bhasin, the navy's former chief of materials, had succeeded vice admiral RN Ganesh as the ATV's DG about three years ago. Admiral Ganesh was the first commander of the INS Chakra.

The oft-referred to, but never publicly acknowledged, ATV programme is being undertaken at Visakhapatnam under the joint supervision of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) ever since 1976, just two years after the country conducted its first underground atomic test.

Meanwhile, Indian defence and atomic scientists, now claim to have made the ATV's reactor "fully operational." According to reports, the 100 MW reactor developed jointly by the DAE, DRDO, and the navy, went critical in October 2004, at Kalpakkam near Chennai. Reports also suggest that a miniaturised version was now under construction for integration into the ATV at Visakhapatnam.

According to defence sources, the proto-type testing centre at Kalpakkam will be used to test the submarine's turbines and propellers, whilst a similar facility at Visakhapatnam will run trials on its main turbines and gearbox.

According to officials, enriched uranium fuel for the reactor was supplied by the Rare Materials Project (RMP) facility, based at Ratnahalli near Mysore.

 

[Screaming Skull]

ATV project: India crosses major milestone​

T.S. Subramanian

Nuclear-powered submarine to cruise the seas in five years

# Land based reactor fully operational since December 2004
# The fuel for the reactor is highly enriched uranium
# It is a top secret project having facilities at Kalpakkam

CHENNAI: India's efforts to build a nuclear-powered submarine crossed a major milestone when the project's land-based reactor became fully operational in December 2004 at Kalpakkam, near here. The reactor reached criticality by October last year.

The design of the submarine is ready, and the project, called Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV), has the involvement of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the Navy.

The miniature reactor's capability is about 100 MWe and the fuel is highly enriched uranium, supplied by the Rare Materials Project (RMP) at Ratnahalli, near Mysore.

The delay in the reactor reaching criticality was because of the time taken to produce enough quantity of uranium by the RMP.

Many components of the reactor, such as the steam-generator and the control rod mechanism, were fabricated in the country. Efforts now will be on getting a submarine-based reactor ready.

"Now that the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has succeeded in operating the land-based reactor at Kalpakkam, the DRDO and naval designers have to integrate the reactor into the submarine," a source said.

Russian help

The ATV was in the news after Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in Moscow on November 16 that Russia had agreed to help India build the ATV and an air defence vessel.

Mr. Mukherjee, speaking at the Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission for military-technical cooperation, said Russia had assured him that it would share the technology for building the ATV and an air defence vessel, besides going in for co-production in some areas of their construction ( The Hindu November 17, 2005).

The ATV is a top-secret project and the facilities are situated at BARC, Trombay, and Kalpakkam. When everything is ready, the submarine will be built at Visakhapatnam.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited the ATV facility at Kalpakkam on October 23, 2004 during the inauguration of construction of the 500-MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR).

The ATV project has its origin in the 1970s. It is expected that the submarine will cruise the seas in five years.

India had leased from Russia Chakra, a nuclear-powered submarine, from 1988 to 1991.This gave the Navy a hands-on experience.

Only the United States, Russia, France and China have nuclear-powered submarines.

 

[Screaming Skull]

Update on India's Indigenous Submarine (ATV) and Aircraft Carrier (ADS) Projects

Sunday, February 15, 2009

On India's long standing indigenous nuclear submarine program The Times of India, February 12, 2009 reports:
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"BANGALORE: In a boost to India's long-standing aim to have "a nuclear weapon triad", defence minister A K Antony on Wednesday said the secretive programme to construct indigenous nuclear submarines was on the verge of completion now. "Things are in the final stage now in the ATV (advanced technology vessel) project. There were bottlenecks earlier...they are over now,"

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...The hush-hush ATV project, a euphemism for the three nuclear-powered submarines being constructed at the Visakhapatnam naval dockyard, has been dogged by a series of technical hiccups since it was formally launched as far back as 1983. The main problem has revolved around the design of miniature PWRs (pressurised water reactors) and their containment plans for the submarine's propulsion system but sources said such technical problems are a thing of the past now, with a little help from countries like Russia and France.
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...India, of course, is also trying to sort out the remaining few hitches in leasing the K-152 Nerpa Akula-II class nuclear submarine from Russia for a 10-year period, as reported by TOI earlier. India and Russia had secretly signed the deal for the Akula lease in January 2004, along with the $1.5 billion package deal for the refit of aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov and 16 MiG-29K fighters to operate from it. With the two nations now negotiating the around $2 billion jump in the Gorshkov contract, there is a feeling that Russia is trying to extract more money for the Akula lease also. "We will get the Akula since we have paid money for it. We will use it to train our sailors for the eventual ATVs," said a senior Navy officer."

Also located by Kobus is another Times of India article, February 13, 2009:
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"PANAJI: The keel for India's first indigenous aircraft carrier also known as the air defence ship (ADS) [wikipedia description Vikrant Class aircraft carrier] will be laid shortly at Cochin shipyard, Kerala, said admiral Sureesh Mehta, chief of naval staff. ...Mehta said that the ADS should accommodate 20-odd aircraft [and 10 helicopters]. The original plan for the carrier, is to have the light combat aircraft (LCA) and the advanced light helicopter (ALH) Dhruv in its fleet of assorted aircraft besides MiG 29 K and Ka-31. The ADS will be launched by October 2010, as per the phase I contract signed by its manufacturer Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) with the defence ministry. While the vessel is scheduled to be launched by 2010, design work on the project is in progress and the fabrication of hull blocks has already started, reports stated. Mehta on Thursday said that the ADS would cost India around Rs 2,000 crore..."

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Comments
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India has many ambitious naval projects on the go, but the small amount of GDP earmarked for defence (estimated at 2.5% in 2006) means that progress is slow. Another factor is India's reliance on Russia to design and help build some vessels.
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It appears that Russia promised to build much of India's navy at too low a price in order to get orders and to cement its alliance with India. The most acute late and overbudget project might be the large carrier Gorshkov. Low bidding and India's traditional desire to divide its defence purchasing between Russia and Western countries meant that many "cheap, quick" projects were signed with Russia from the 1980s to the early 2000s.
-
Though India is relying heavily on Russia its acquisitions from the West continue to be substantial. Indian vessels with Western input include:
- the new Vikrant class carrier being built by India was designed by Italy's Fincantieri
- the Godavari frigates are modified UK Leander class vessels.
- the Super Dvora II class Fast Patrol vessels were first bought from Israel then built in Goa
- the Sukanya Class patrol vessels (some of which apparently carry nuclear armed Dhanush missiles) were bought from South Korea.
- the Aditya and Deepak class Replishment tankers were bought from Germany.
- India's one operating carrier INS Viraat was formally HMS Hermes
- the 4 German 209 submarines were built in Mumbai and
- six French Scorpenes submarines are to be built in India.
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Russia is now finding that it itself does not have a large enough naval sector to fund completion of projects at the prices agreed. Russia has insufficient economies of scale especially for Akula class submarines - meanwhile the Gorshkov transformation is a one-off, not part of a production line. This has resulted in a lack of momentum. The gas tragedy on the Nerpa submarine appears to have delayed that leasing project - unless India pays Russia much more to revive it.
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Meanwhile a promise made mid last year that an ATV would be unveiled for public viewing for the first time during India's Republic Day (January 26, 2009) didn't occur.
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It is unknown whether the ATV will be a copy of a Russian Akula Class Submarine, a smaller derivative, or be of only 4,000 tons based on a Russian Charlie Class boat. It may well be that the ATV started development as a Charlie Class derivative and was then scaled up as an Akula derivative - big enough to accommodate a Vertical Launch System (VLS) for ballistic missiles.
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India's naval acquisition policies have not proven easy or economical due to:
- a desire for extremely complex nuclear propulsion
- development of indigenous derivatives or original designs
- one-off quick fixes,
- India cementing its strategic alliance with Russia through helping to support (using equipment purchases) Russia's problematic naval sector, and
- inadequate Indian defence funding to meet its ambitions on time.
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Meanwhile China, India's most formidable naval opponent, has already designed, built and fielded nuclear attack and ballistic missile submarines. China's progress may partially be explained by, or reflected in, its greater defence effort - (last estimated in 2006 to be 4.3% of GDP). China and has not relied on an ally that has problems delivering.

 

[Screaming Skull]

The secret undersea weapon​

Sandeep Unnithan

January 17, 2008

Located up the winding shipping channel in Visakhapatnam harbour is a secret, completely enclosed facility known only as the Shipbuilding Centre (SBC).

Inside this dry dock, nearly 50m below ground level, is a cylindrical black shape, which is as tall as a two-storey building and at 104 m in length, is longer than the Qutub Minar lying on its side.

Technicians working on it confess to a surge of national pride: India’s first nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine or SSBN is arguably its greatest engineering project.

For over a quarter of a century, the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV), smaller than the USS Alabama from Crimson Tide, has been among the most highly-classified government programmes, if not the most delayed.

Officials still refuse to confirm the existence of the project or the sea-based ballistic missile. A decade after India came out of the nuclear closet in the sands of Pokhran, it has moved some tantalising steps closer to realising the third and possibly the toughest of the three legs of the triad enunciated in its nuclear doctrine: a sea-based deterrent or a secure underwater platform for launching nuclear weapons.

“Things are developing as per schedule,” Defence Minister A.K. Antony recently said of ATV. Early last month, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sureesh Mehta was the first government official to not only confirm its existence but also lay down a timeframe: “It is a DRDO project and a technology demonstrator. It is somewhere near completion and will be in the water in two years.”

The admiral had reason to feel confident about the project. Just last month, an 80MW nuclear reactor, smaller than a bus, was pushed into the hull of the submarine and successfully integrated—a milestone in the project approved by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1970.

By April 2009, the submarine will be launched and will begin sea trials before it is inducted into the navy. The goal is to field a fleet of three SSBNs by 2015, one in reserve and two on patrol, each carrying 12 nucleartipped ballistic missiles (Artist’s impression of India’s nuclear-propelled ballistic missile submarine) .

Possibly the last “gift” to India from the now-extinct Soviet Union, it was designed with Russian assistance in the late ’80s. Based on an entirely new design, the 6,000 tonne submarine (not the elderly Charlie class N-sub as thought earlier) will make India the world’s sixth nation to operate a “boomer”.

Part of the acceleration in the programme has to do with the rapid buildup of Chinese nuclear forces. China operates 10 nuclear submarines, and in the past year, has fielded as many as three new Jin-class SSBNs, each carrying 12 submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM). “Given the growing military asymmetry with China, India’s need for a reliable nuclear deterrent that can survive a first strike has never been greater,” says strategic expert Brahma Chellaney.

ATV is in line with India’s nuclear doctrine enunciated in 1999, which calls for its nuclear forces to be effective, enduring, diverse, flexible and responsive to the requirements in accordance with the concept of credible minimum deterrence. The doctrine calls for high survivability against surprise attacks and for a rapid punitive response.

A nuclear submarine that can remain submerged almost indefinitely and cannot be detected underwater, therefore, meets all these criteria and offers an almost invulnerable launch platform for nuclear weapons.

For a country like India with a no-first use policy, it is vital because it prevents a potential adversary from launching a crippling first strike that can knock out all nuclear weapons (see box). It also allows India to inflict considerable damage to the aggressor.

“One submarine carries at least 12 missiles with Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicles, which could mean as many as 96 warheads. When such a submarine goes out to the sea, that many missiles are removed from our own territory. The enemy’s targeting of that many sites gets neutralised,” says Rear Admiral (retired) Raja Menon.

ATV, with its suitably muted acronym, was a euphemism for a longdelayed project. Shrouded in obsessive secrecy for decades, it has been under the direct supervision of the prime minister, who also chairs ATV’s apex committee.

Nearly 200 naval officers and technicians are directly involved in the project that is managed by a vice-admiral who functions out of ATV headquarters in Delhi Cantonment. Funding was never a problem, even during the lean days of defence spending, like in the pre-1990s. An estimated Rs 2,000 crore was spent even before work on the submarine was started.

The excessive secrecy, say experts, was based on a misinterpretation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)—that building a nuclear submarine would be a violation. There was, therefore, a lack of accountability, which harmed the project.

Project officials in Vizag are now sealing the reactor with a special shield and plugging in the control systems, turbines and piping. The next few months are critical. After the reactor compartment is sealed, the tail sector— which includes the propeller and the shaft—will be welded in and the submarine will be ready. By April next year, the dry dock will be flooded and the vessel will be officially launched.

After it hits the water, the nuclear reactor will be jump-started and the submarine’s propellers— seven highlyskewed brass blades—will be tested. After the reactor and all its associated control systems are successively proven, the submarine will be towed out of the harbour for extensive sea trials lasting over a year before it is inducted into the navy around 2010.

While the impending launch of ATV is reason for cheer, the actual fielding of a secure second-strike capability is still three years away. This is the time it will take to integrate and successfully test fire the missile from the submarine. Without its nuclear missiles, the submarine is just a platform.

The missile is being concurrently developed under an equally-classified programme. Announcing its successful test in April last year, DRDO chief M. Natarajan called it “a strategic system which I cannot talk about”.

The enigmatic two-stage missile— dubbed K-15 under the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) Sagarika (oceanic) project— is a technological breakthrough. Rapidly ejected from the submarine’s launcher by igniting an underwater gas booster, it rises nearly 5 km above the ocean.

When it reaches a pre-determined height, it ignites a solid booster and travels to a range of nearly 750 km. Tested three times from a specially-designed submersible pontoon, the yetto-be-named “naval missile” is another feather in India’s cap.

The 100-member crew, which will man the submarine, is being trained at an indigenously-developed simulator in the School for Advanced Underwater Warfare (SAUW) at the naval base in Vizag. Hands-on training will be done on the INS Chakra, a 12,000-tonne Akula-II class nuclear-powered attack submarine being taken on a 10-year lease from Russia next year.

SBC in Vizag is to become the assembly line for three ATVs, costing a little over Rs 3,000 crore each or the cost of a 37,000 tonne indigenous aircraft carrier built at the Cochin Shipyard.

Larsen and Toubro (L&T) has begun building the hull of the second ATV at its facility in Hazira, to be inducted into the navy by 2012. The SSBN fleet will be housed on the east coast at a new naval base in Rambilli, a few kilometres south of Visakhapatnam, where nearly 3,000 acre of land has been acquired for India’s first strategic base, to be manned entirely by military personnel.

Unlike the narrow single channel in Visakhapatnam, it will offer the nuclear fleet direct access into the sea. The first phase of the project, costing approximately Rs 1,500 crore, will be ready by 2011.

Why has the project taken so long? For a country that built only two conventional submarines of the Germandesigned HDW Type 1500 class in the early ’90s, building a nuclear submarine was the ultimate challenge: a DRDO official sees the learning curve to be the equivalent of a scooter mechanic building a Mercedes.

The key challenge, however, was not in designing or fabricating the hull, but the reactor and containment vessel, which consumes one-tenth (nearly 600 tonne) of the vessel’s total displacement. The hydrodynamics of a vessel with one-tenth of its weight concentrated in one place is a formidable naval engineering challenge, but miniaturising a nuclear reactor the size of a football field to fit inside an 8m enclosure is an even bigger hurdle.

This was among the reasons for the decade-long delay in the project. The nuclear reactor in a submarine generates heat to convert water into saturated steam to turn the submarine’s turbines. Unlike an oilfired boiler, it does not require air to operate. All other parts of the submarine are the same as any steam-powered turbine plant’s.

The reactor operates on uranium enriched to nearly 45 per cent (uranium used in civilian nuclear reactors is less than 5 per cent and bombs use uranium enriched to over 90 per cent).

In 1998, L&T began fabricating the hull of ATV but the struggle with the reactor continued. After BARC designs failed, India bought reactor designs from Russia.

By 2004 the reactor had been built, tested on land at the IGCAR and had gone critical. Its modest size, around 6,000 tonne (the Ohio class SSBN in the movie Crimson Tide weighs over 14,000 tonne), has led experts to call it a “baby boomer”. While the present project ends at three units, defence officials have not ruled out building larger submarines on the basis of national strategic imperatives. These have changed since the conception of the project.

The plan, until late ’80s, was to build an SSN—a fast-moving deep-diving nuclear-powered attack submarine, which would hunt surface ships.

ATV project sites

Like pieces of a complex jigsaw puzzle, ATV project sites are scattered across the country.

Kalpakkam

* Indira Gandhi Atomic Research Centre near Chennai fabricates ATV’s light water nuclear reactor.

Visakhapatnam

* ATV production line at the Ship Building Centre.
* School of Advanced Underwater Warfare (SAUV) for training ATV crews.
* Indigenously developed control room simulator.
* Evolution of strategic submarine operational doctrines.

Rambilli

* Strategic submarine base south of Vizag will be commissioned by 2011.

Delhi

* ATV project headquarters.

Ratnahalli

* Rare Materials Project near Mysore supplies enriched uranium for ATV reactor.

Hyderabad

* Sagarika complex is fabricating and developing SLBM. Project began in 1994.

Balasore

* Special underwater launch test platform for test-firing ATV’s missile.

Kochi

* Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory developing ATV sensors.

Around the time India leased a Charlie-I class nuclear-powered attack submarine from the Soviet Union, it had already veered towards building a submarine carrying ballistic missiles. The hull design was lengthened and the SSN quietly transformed into an SSBN.

There are, however, some key challenges to be overcome. ATV’s SLBMs have a range of only 750 km, a big leap from its start of 250 km a decade ago, but still smaller than the SLBMs deployed by the Big Five, which boast ranges in excess of 5,000 km. DRDO is working on fielding a submarine launched variant of the 5,000-km Agni III missile, which will give the submarine true striking power and flexibility.

Scientists believe the submarine’s present reactor output of around 80 MW is limited because it imposes operational restrictions on the submarine’s speed and will mean that the reactor will have to function near peak power at most times.

The reactor would also need constant refuelling— a fairly expensive process where the hull is cut open and the nuclear cores replaced every decade. For the moment, however, the immediate challenge lies in successfully sending the submarine out to the sea.

 

[Screaming Skull]

The sub total​

August 21, 2008

India's strategic establishment has begun the countdown to two important milestones. In late June, a modified Akula-II class nuclear-powered attack submarine, the Chakra, began harbour acceptance trials at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur shipyard in the Russian far east.

In the next few months, the Russian submarine, formerly the Nerpa (Seal), is to sail into the Pacific Ocean off Vladivostok for full-fledged sea trials with a Russian crew.

If the trials are successfully concluded, say officials, the Chakra will be commissioned at Vladivostok with an Indian crew who will sail it to India by August 15, 2009.

The choice of date is not accidental. The second milestone, too, has been timed with a national event. On January 26, 2009, the sluice gates of an enclosed dry-dock in Visakhapatnam are to be opened and the world will take its first look at India's first nuclear-powered submarine, the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV), as it enters the waters.

Nuclear submarines are powered by a nuclear reactor which produces enormous heat that runs steam turbines. They can stay underwater almost indefinitely and stealthily launch ballistic missiles from under the sea.

The national maritime doctrine unveiled last year calls a nuclear-armed missile submarine the "most credible of all arsenals in a second strike" and "most preferred" for small nuclear forces".

The aim is to field three submarines equipped with nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles-the so-called third leg of the nuclear triad comprising air, land and sea-launched weapons-on "deterrent patrols" (to deter a potential adversary from launching a nuclear first strike) by 2015.

The Chakra on harbour trials at a Russian shipyard

India's ATV is based on the Russian Akula-I class submarine, but is powered by a single indigenously-built nuclear reactor and equipped with 12 K-15 ballistic missiles or 16 of the Indo-Russian BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles.

Three ATVs are under construction, and hull fabrication and integration of the nuclear reactor on the first submarine have been completed. Like the Chakra, it will begin harbour trials in a specially made, enclosed anchorage in the Ship Building Centre at Visakhapatnam.

Here, all the onboard systems, including the reactor and steam turbines, are to be fully tested before it can sail out for sea trials in the Bay of Bengal. ATV is expected to join the navy after a two-year shakedown period.

Debut plans

* ATV to be launched in Visakhapatnam on Jan 26, 2009.
* The Chakra to be inducted into the navy on Aug 15, 2009.
* ATV is a modified Akula-I class submarine.
* It will be the first submarine equipped with BrahMos missiles and the indigenous 700 km-range K-15 missiles.
* The Chakra is a modified Akula-II class submarine.

Due to its design commonality with ATV, the Chakra is being leased primarily to train crews to man ATVs. With its cruise missiles and torpedoes, it will also be used for sea-denial missions in the Indian Ocean.

The under construction 12,000-tonne Chakra was to be completed and leased to India for 10 years under a $650-million deal signed in 2004. It was to be inducted into the navy on August 15 this year, but was delayed by a year, following technical snags.

"Project India", as the classified lease programme is called, seems to be back on track after being seemingly caught in last year's freeze in Indo-Russian defence ties over escalating costs of the aircraft carrier Vikramaditya's refit.

 

[Screaming Skull]

President Patil to tour submarine​

New Delhi, January 2, 2009

President Pratibha Patil will get her maiden guided tour inside an Indian naval submarine on Saturday during an official visit to the naval base at Visakhapatnam.

The submarine being readied for the supreme commander's visit is the INS Sindhudhvaj, one of the navy's fleet of 10-kilo-class submarines. The Sindhudhvaj was recently refitted in a Russian shipyard and equipped to fire anti-ship missiles. However, unlike the president sea sojourn two years ago, President Patil will not be sailing out into the Bay of Bengal.

The president will also be given a guided tour of a classified naval facility, the School of Advanced Undersea Warfare (SAUW) and shown around the submarine simulators. Commissioned at the INS Satavahana in 2007, crews of India's planned fleet of nuclear submarines - the under-construction Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) and the Akula-2 class SSN - are trained on the simulators at the SAUW.

The president's itinerary does not include a visit to the first hull of the ATV, under construction at a classified ship-building facility. The hull of the 6,000-tonne submarine was to have been launched into the water on January 26 this year, but is now believed to have been postponed to mid-2009. This is the latest in the series of delays in the indigenous programme which began in the early 1970s.

 

[Screaming Skull]

Indian delegation visits Russian dock, Nerpa sub​

11/ 02/ 2009

KHABAROVSK, February 11 (RIA Novosti) - An Indian delegation has visited the dock in Russia's Far East where the Nerpa nuclear submarine has been kept since a fatal accident on board last year, the dockyard's director said on Wednesday.

On November 8, while the Nerpa submarine was undergoing sea trials in the Sea of Japan, its on-board fire safety system went off, releasing deadly gas into the sleeping quarters. Three sailors and 17 shipyard workers were killed. There were 208 people, 81 of them sailors, on board the vessel at the time.

India has reportedly paid $650 million for a 10-year lease of the 12,000-ton Nerpa nuclear attack submarine. Indian media have reported that the construction of the vessel was partially financed by the country's government.

"During their two-day visit to the Vostok dockyard, the Indian delegates inspected the submarine and met with experts employed at the dock," Gennady Bagin said adding that the delegation had already left for Vladivostok.

According to RIA Novosti sources, the Indian delegates are planning to visit the headquarters of Russia's Pacific Fleet in Vladivostok.

An ongoing investigation has supported the conclusion that the tragedy was caused by the mishandling of a temperature sensor on board which led to deadly Freon gas being released.

A serving crew member on the Nerpa, Dmitry Grobov, has been charged with "involuntary manslaughter" and may face a sentence of up to five years in prison.

The accident on K-152 Nerpa, an Akula II class nuclear-powered attack submarine, was the Russian Navy's worst since the sinking of the Kursk nuclear submarine in 2000, which claimed the lives of all 118 personnel on board.

 

[Screaming Skull]

India's nuclear sub project near completion-Defence Minister​

Thu Feb 12, 2009

NEW DELHI, Feb 12 (Reuters) - India's project to construct three nuclear-powered submarines at a southern India naval base is near completion, officials said on Thursday. "Things are in the final stage now," A.K. Antony, India's defence minister, told reporters in the southern city of Bangalore.

"There were bottlenecks earlier, but they are over now," a defence spokesman quoted him as having said during an airshow.

The project is part of a $2.9 billion plan to build five submarines, delayed for years due to technical problems.

"All that is behind us and we are on course to complete the project in a few months and go for trials," a defence spokesman said in New Delhi.

India's Defence Research and Development Organisation is also working on submarine-launched ballistic missiles, which would be fitted into the new submarines, officials added. The country has plans to lease nuclear-powered submarines from Russia. It already has fighter aircraft and missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

India is looking to spend more than $30 billion over the next five years to modernise its largely Soviet-era arms and is also trying to strengthen its navy by introducing new weapons systems.

The country is also launching its first military spy satellite next year, the head of its air force said on Thursday, as part of India's efforts to expand its space programme.

"It will take place by middle of next year," Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major told reporters in Bangalore. (Reporting by Bappa Majumdar; Editing by Alistair Scrutton and Sugita Katyal)

 

[Screaming Skull]

The Indian SSN Project: An Open Literature Analysis​

Introduction:

• Since 1971 Indian scientists have been trying to produce a compact nuclear powerplant (reactor) suitable for use in a submarine. That desire was complemented by a plan for uranium enrichment facilities employing centrifuge technology.
  
• As recently pointed out by Eric Arnett some observers have speculated that the purpose of the nuclear submarine program "is intended to provide an invulnerable launching platform for nuclear weapons."
  
• He makes the following further observation concerning the early nature of the program: "The history and implications of SSN's for Indian maritime strategy suggest that the US presence in the Indian Ocean was a stronger motivation for the SSN programme. Further, even in the 1950's, SSN's were seen by Indian naval planners as a way of establishing presence as far away as Indonesian and Chinese waters."
  
• Even thought mentioned as a second strike weapon for use against Pakistan it is believed that the primary purpose of the nuclear submarine programme is to serve as a deterrent to China.
  
• An analyst at the Canadian Institute for International Peace and Security (CIIPS) has noted : "Analysis of India's defense priorities in the Indian Ocean points to a long-term strategy of meeting a potential Chinese incursion into the Indian Ocean at the key check points in the east - the Strait of Malacca. An assessment of India's maritime force structure reveals that New Delhi is seeking to attain a sea-denial capability in the Indian Ocean.
  
• It was recently pointed out that even thought India has no territorial claims on ASEAN territory, it does have border disputes with China on its northern borders. Any naval confrontation between the two would most certainly involve the use of submarines.
  
• As part of the price for becoming a member of ASEAN and participating in further Asian-Europe summits pressure has been exerted upon India to drop plans for development of a nuclear submarine capability. This pressure has been supported by the members of the European Union.

This report will attempt to provide both technical and political details of the events and activities surrounding the nuclear-powered submarine project or as it is more commonly known the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV). Advanced conventional alternatives will also be briefly discussed.

Overview:

"In 1963 the Indian government approved the creation of a submarine force for the Indian Navy. This decision, which again seems at odds with the general strategic challenge facing India in 1963, rested on assessments prepared by the Indian Navy of naval forces operating as far afield as China and Indonesia."

"In India, it was initially hoped that submarines would be available as part of the Western military assistance package. In 1963, India requested submarines of recent design from the United Kingdom. However, it was offered only the loan of a World War II vintage vessel then being used as a target submarine for fleet training. The vessel had actually outlived even this function and was shortly due to be scrapped. India subsequently investigated Soviet attitudes towards supplying naval vessels. In August 1964 Defense Minister Chavan announced an agreement in principle to buy six submarines from the Soviet Union. The contract to buy the submarines was signed in November 1964."

"An Indian delegation visited the Soviet Union in August/September 1965 to finalize the financial and technical aspects of this deal and to discuss the transfer of Soviet coastal defense vessels. Payment for the submarines was to be in rupees, while new facilities would be constructed for the replenishment, repair and maintenance of Soviet submarines. facilities for the repair and maintenance of Soviet vessels were established at the Garden Reach workshops in Calcutta."

"In December 1968 the arrival of submarines of Soviet origin was announced as part of a new plan for naval expansion and modernization by Chief of Naval Staff Admiral A.K. Chatterji. The decision to buy 6 Foxtrot Class submarines from the Soviet Union was a new departure in naval strategy which indicated the pattern of Indian naval thinking, particularly as it related to technology change. Chatterji was one influential voice arguing that the growing vulnerability of surface ships inevitably led to the development of submarines and air forces. Chatterji was also of the belief that India should seek to build nuclear-powered submarines by the late 1980's."

"The delivery of INS Chakra, a Soviet produced Charlie Class nuclear-powered submarine (SSN), to India in January 1988 was one development that has focused increased attention on Indian naval programmes. While India has operated a submarine fleet since the late 1960's, this development has been interpreted as a major change in Indian capabilities and evidence of India's intention to develop its naval superiority among the countries around the Indian ocean."

"The origins of the SSN programme reach back almost twenty years. As noted earlier, the purchase of an SSN fleet was an option discussed in the mid 1960's but dismissed as unrealistic. However, the discussion concluded that in the long term India should aim to build submarines, but that in the immediate future that would not be possible. The discussion included the possibility that India would at some point want to build a nuclear-propelled submarine, euphemistically called the 'advanced-technology vessel'. In December 1983, answering questions in the Indian Parliament, Defense Minister Venkataraman said: I have already said that we keep our options in this matter, if necessary we will go in for it. But then a nuclear-powered submarine is different from the nuclear submarine with nuclear warheads. I have already said that we are not going to use atomic energy for anything but peaceful purposes. Therefore, we will use it for power.... it will be only for propulsion."

"The shipbuilding expertise, shore-based support facilities and the manpower needed to build and operate nuclear submarines could not be acquired quickly. The Soviet Union was apparently reluctant to transfer either nuclear-powered submarines themselves or the technology required for their construction in India. In 1980 and 1982 the only submarines offered seem to have been refurbished Foxtrot Class. As a result, India began evaluating possible alternative conventionally powered submarines to replace the Foxtrot submarines in service. At this point it was already decided that at least some units of the design which was chosen would be built in India, and that the ultimate objective of producing nuclear-powered submarines would not be sacrificed. From the mid 1970's, a number of submarine designs were under consideration from Western Europe and the Soviet Union. European countries involved were France, the FRG, Italy, The Netherlands and Sweden, with the FRG and Sweden the clearly favoured options by 1980."

"Indian officials were looking for a design which could offer a chance to learn the production and operating skills relevant to nuclear-powered submarines. The Type-209 design offered by the West German company HDW met some of these criteria. In 1981 HDW won the order based a 'stretched' and heavier version of the Type-209 weighing 1500 tonnes (and consequently designated the Type-1500). West Germany also gained an advantage in negotiations by offering as a package a new generation of torpedoes supplied by the West German company AEG. The initial order covered the sale of two submarines to be built in Kiel and included an option to produce up to four subsequently in India. The signature of the contract was held up, as officials in the FRG were unhappy about a clause in the contract, insisted upon by India, which would guarantee deliveries of spare parts in wartime. However, the option on the production of the submarines at Mazagon Docks in Bombay was exercised in December 1981. Construction began in early 1982 and the West German-built vessels were delivered in 1986-7. production of the submarines has run into problems, finally getting underway in 1984, and delivery of the first of these (originally expected in 1988) was delayed until 1991."

"India's first indigenously-constructed diesel-electric submarine, the INS Shalki, a license-produced Type 209 Class 1500, was commissioned on 7 February, 25 years after the Navy established the first submarine squadron. The Shalki was built at the East Yard of Mazagon Dock Ltd. (MDL). Construction stated in 1984, and it was launched in September 1989."

"Fabrication of the Shalki taxed MDL's capabilities to the limit, resulting in a 20 per cent cost over-run, and delivery of the submarine was 15 months late, according to P.K. Mukherjee, general manager of MDL's East Yard. The Shalki has cost the Indian navy some Rs1.8 billion ($450 million)."

"Unlike many other technology transfer projects involving the construction of submarines to Western designs, the Shalki was fabricated entirely in India, and was not simply assembled from partially outfitted hull sections or "work packages" supplied by a Western shipyard. Raw materials such as high-strength HY-80 steel and pipes were imported but were cut, formed and welded in India."

"With the commissioning of the Shalki, India now has a fleet of 18 diesel-electric submarines - seven elderly Foxtrots, eight modern Kilo-class built in the Soviet Union, and three Type 209 Class 1500's. One of India's more elderly Foxtrots, the INS Khanderi, has now been decommissioned, but the navy plans to rely on the more modern Foxtrot-types in its inventory - the Vela class - for several years yet, during which time the overall number of submarines in India's inventory will decrease."

"India now has three submarine squadrons under the Western Naval Command and two under the Eastern Naval Command. The remaining Type 209 Class 1500 being built in India, The INS Shankul, is expected to be launched by the end of the first quarter of 1992 and to be commissioned in 1993. Two earlier Type 209's, the Shishumar and the Shankush were purchased direct from Germany. Two more Type 209's to have been built in India were cancelled."

Allegations of kickbacks have surfaced. It has been alleged that Indian officials accepted kickbacks from the German company HDW.

"Thus the cost of establishing a submarine-building facility in India - some Rs440 million ($110 million) - is likely to have been amortized over the cost of just two submarines, until such time as the Indian navy commences work on its next generation of submarine. This is likely to be an Indian design, quite possibly a nuclear submarine according to Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas, chief of the Indian naval staff, who has announced publicly that the navy is working on the design of a nuclear powerplant. Such a design is, however, unlikely to be ready until the year 2000."

"In early 1984 there were reports of discussions with the Soviet Union on the supply of more advanced, possibly nuclear-powered, vessels and the training of Indian crews in the Soviet Union. By late 1984, the Soviet Union was apparently prepared to offer India submarines of more modern design in considerable numbers. Vice Admiral Tahiliani, then Vice Chief of Naval Staff, took a leading role in talks in Moscow in September 1984, after which official sources stated that the defense relationship had taken on 'a new dimension'. This has subsequently been interpreted to have meant that the Soviet Union agreed not only to supply more modern types of conventional submarine, but also to allow India access to nuclear-powered submarines. The formal agreement to lease a nuclear-powered submarine from the Soviet Union was signed in 1985."

"In mid 1987 reports began to surface about Indian negotiations with the Soviet Union to transfer one or more nuclear submarines. Indian sources indicated that India had started a nuclear submarine reactor program of its own at BARC a decade before but with unsatisfactory results. Consequently, India decided to import the capability from the Soviet Union, initially in the form of Soviet nuclear-powered submarines, with Indian personal already in training in the Soviet Union to handle the equipment. In early January 1988, All-India Radio announced that the Soviet Union had 'leased' a nuclear-powered submarine to India with India taking delivery in the Soviet port of Vladivostok."

"By selling reactor technology to India, the Soviet Union may get a foothold in a strategically sensitive Indian domain. This would be particularly so if along with a supply of power reactors, the Soviet Union also provided technical and design assistance to make Indian production of its own submarine reactors feasible. The lease of SSN's would give India early operating experience with such reactors. The 'lease' arrangement may be a convenient way of guaranteeing return to the Soviet Union of the submarine reactor fuel. At the same time, other motives may be part of the appeal of this arrangement. The price that India is paying to lease these submarines is considerable (estimated Rs3,000 crores for 4 to 5 submarines). Moreover, as India Today (31 December 1987) speculates Soviet nuclear-powered submarines operated by India in the Indian Ocean could complicate US Naval surveillance of Soviet submarines in that region.

The Los Angeles Times published an article in February 1988 in which western analysts contradict many of the claims made by the Indian navy concerning the submarine lease. The Indian navy first claimed that the submarine was an old Victor I class, but western analysts said published photographs clearly identify the Chakra as a Charlie class designed to carry eight cruise missiles.

The article further states that Pakistan reacted to the lease by trying to purchase Canadian hybrid nuclear powered submarines.

The offical US government response has been one of concern. However military analysts have voiced a different view. According to one "India wants to take over the mantle of the British raj. They are buidling a big modern navy. It is natural that they would consider nuclear propulsion."

"The 1988 submarine deal has ended and future procurement of nuclear-powered submarines appear unlikely. A number of reports have surfaced that India had taken delivery of a second Soviet SSN as a replacement for the first submarine. (14)Reports have appeared that radiation problems on the submarine were responsible for the death of one Indian scientist on board the submarine. These radiation problems may have ben the main cause of the cancellation of the contract with the Soviet Union. The nuclear submarine leased from the Soviet Union has been returned, probably to save the annual cost of the lease, which amounts to Rs120 crores."

"The plan to develop an SSN force in India has not run smoothly, and highlights the enormous technological barriers for a developing country in operating this kind of system. To begin with, the shore-based facilities needed for nuclear submarines are significantly more complex than those for conventional submarines because of the need for reactor maintenance. There is currently no harbour facility in India capable of handling radioactive materials, and the submarine reactor is shut down when the vessel is in port. India has built a Soviet-designed facility called the Special Safety Service at Vishakhapatnam, designed to monitor the health of people working on the INS Chakra and detect any radiation leak emanating from the submarine."

"In 1988 it appeared that the Indian navy had reached a plateau in terms of new orders for naval vessels. Existing contracts will lead to further deliveries over the next few years. However, the existing focus seems to be on integrating the new equipment into the Navy. This has been explicitly elaborated by the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Nadkarni, who has stressed in interviews that while such long-term goals as the creation of a third fleet remain on the agenda, there is no prospect that these will be pursued in the immediate future."

"Continued acquisition and development of a nuclear submarine capability is further evidence of India's intention to develop its naval superiority further among the countries around the Indian Ocean."

In early 1996 the ATV project was reported to be frozen. Pressure from the United States and financial problems facing the Indian navy were reported as the main reason for the freeze.

As previously stated in the introduction it has been reported that ASEAN wants India to stop work on the ATV as a condition for entry into ASEAN and for India to be invited to future Asia-Europe summits. The European Union is also behind the demands put up by ASEAN. These terms were shared with the Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee during the recent visit to New Delhi by European Union foreign ministers.

By mid 1996 India had already spent $285.7 million to develop a nuclear submarine. DRDO officials have estimated that the submarine will be completed in five years and will require an additional $714.3 million in financing to complete the project.

DRDO is also reportedly seeking design assistance from former engineers and defense workers of the former Soviet Union. Several Russian naval engineers are reported to have been in India since 1991

 

[Screaming Skull]

Submarine Design:

Jane's Fighting Ships 1995-1996 Edition provides the following description of the nuclear powered submarine project:

"The ex-Soviet Charlie class nuclear-powered submarine Chakra was leased for three years from January 1988. The lease was not extended and she returned to Vladivostock in January 1991. Although interest is still being taken in buying a modern SSN from Russia, the preferred plan now is to build a nuclear-propelled submarine in India. For this purpose there is an R&D project called the Advanced Technology Vessel which is reasonably well funded and has facilities in Delhi, Hyderabad, Vishakapatnam and Kalpakkam. A Navy-Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) runs the project and since the mid-1980's has had a Vice Admiral in charge. The submarine will be a development of a Russian design with an Indian PWR. The nuclear propulsion system has been tested ashore. This project has priority over the new aircraft carrier and is running to time. A 2500 ton submarine is planned to be laid down in 1997 with Russian assistance. The plan is for a class of five fitted with Sagarika cruise missiles."

Richard Sharpe, the editor of Jane's Fighting Ships recently stated to Indian Age that "the Russian submarine-design bureau Rubin is cooperating with the DRDO in developing the sub's 190 MW PWR, and that the Indian navy already tested a nuclear-propulsion system ashore."

He further stated that fabrication work on the 6000-tonne displacement hull will begin next year.

Additional comments by Sharpe concerning the submarine were "It puts the Indian Navy in a different league. You could call it the ace of spades in the pack of maritime capability." He also believes a nuclear submarine will give India a "colossal advantage" over its neighbors. Facing a nuclear submarine is a nightmare; it has unlimited endurance and mobility and there's no place for a surface ship to hide."

Even thought India now possesses much knowledge and experience concerning the construction of submarines that knowledge is not totally transferable to the nuclear-powered submarine project.

The tear drop or water drop shape of the submarine remains the same, however one cannot cut a conventional-powered submarine in half, install the nuclear power plant in a new compartment between the two halves, and weld the three sections together. Further discussion of this topic will occur in the nuclear propulsion section.

The initial design strategy was to copy a leased Russian nuclear submarine (Charlie II) using an Indian built nuclear reactor for propulsion. The Russians are said to have provided detailed drawing of the leased submarine minus the reactor design (providing reactor design details would have been a violation of the NPT).

HY-80 steel was chosen as the material of choice for the construction of the submarine pressure hull. Much experience was gained with this steel during the construction of conventional submarines. Considerable problems were encountered during the welding and construction process. (23)The welding problems were traced to the presence of nonmetallic inclusions, particularly sulfide stringers. (24)In addition hydrogen-induced cracking was a continual problem. A detailed study was performed to solve these problems. Alternative steels were studied as replacement for HY-80, but in the end it remained the material of choice. The problems encountered with this steel were responsible in large amount for the large cost overrun mentioned earlier.

The team included representatives from the Naval Chemical and Metallurgical Laboratory, Naval Dockyard, Bombay, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, Bhabha Atomic Research Center, Bombay, Research and Development Center for Iron and Steel, Ranchi, Defense Metallurgical Research Laboratory, Hyderabad and the Indira Gandhi Center for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam.

This project was conducted under the direction of Dr. P.C. Deb, Director, Naval Chemical and Metallurgical Laboratory. It is also of interest to note that U.K. Chatterjee, of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur was involved in this effort. He is also deeply involved in the development of lasers for isotope separation.

The Defence Materials Research Laboratory, Naval Dockyard, Bombay is also conducting research towards development of an advanced HSLA (high strength low alloy) steel as a possible replacement for HY-80 in critical naval applications. The research appears to be in an early stage of development and for the moment India will still use HY-80 in its submarine pressure hulls.

In late December 1995 it was reported that DRDO had made considerable progress in the fabrication of the pre-test capsule (PTC) was fabricated in 1994 at Hazira in Gujarat. From there it was transported to Kalpakkam. The PTC will fabricated into the final shell is reported to be made of titanium steel and has a hull diameter of 10 meters. This is about 3.5 meters more than the Kilo-class submarine originally borrowed by India. The use of a titanium steel hull will enable the submarine to dive to deeper depths. The hull is to be covered with rubber acoustic tiles to help reduce the signature of the submarine.

India has been reported to be experimenting with the use of non-reflective tiles to reduce sonar returns. Experiments have been carried out on both Kilo and Type 209/2000 submarines using both coatings and tiles.

No information has been published concerning degaussing and/or demagnetizing and its application to submarines. It is known that work in this area has been carried out at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bangalore.

According to Jane's Fighting Ships 1995-1996 the hull of the submarine will weight 6,000 tonnes. Fabrication of the hull is scheduled to begin in 1997.