The Indian Navy (IN) has returned to Russia the Project 971 Akula' (Schuka-B)-class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) it leased in 2012. Official sources told Janes that INS Chakra departed the naval base at Vishakhapatnam on India's eastern coast en route for the Russian naval base at Vladivostok in late May: about 10 months before the USD1 billion lease for the submarine was set to end. They said the early return of the boat became "necessary" due to recurring maintenance issues, especially with the boat's nuclear power plant, that had "severely restricted" its operation in recent years. The IN had been in negotiations with Russia for several years to extend the lease of Chakra, but these were called off in 2020 due to differences over price and repairs. The SSN was used primarily as a training platform for the IN's planned fleet of 4-5 indigenously designed and built Arihant-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs). Chakra will be replaced in 2025 by a more advanced Russian SSN of the same class. India's Ministry of Defence (MoD) concluded a USD3 billion lease for that boat in March 2019 via an inter-governmental agreement. IN sources said the new SSN will also be named Chakra but provided no further details. Meanwhile, India's Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved the issue of a request for proposals (RFP) for the construction of six diesel-electric submarines (SSKs) for the Indian Navy at an estimated cost of USD5.85 billion, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) reported on 4 June. The six SSKs will be equipped with air-independent propulsion.
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