Is the Navy's newest sub worth the price?

"Russian nuclear-powered submarine joins the Indian Navy as INS Chakra on a 10-year lease at a cost of over $one billion. Does it contribute to India's sea-based nuclear deterrence?"

The technology of INS Arihant is between first and second generation vintage. By comparison, the U.S. has ninth generation nuclear-powered subs which do not require refuelling throughout their lifetime.

The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : Is the Navy's newest sub worth the price? The S-2 and the coming S-3 and S-4 vessels will lack adequate capabilities in three key areas of stealth, reactor design and missile range to become a deterrent against China, which with its Jin class subs is at least four decades ahead. These will have difficulty in even deterring Pakistan.

So there is a case to dispense with the S-3 and S-4 vessels which will consume enormous time and finances.We should leap-frog to work on S-5 vessels, with a new design and a powerful nuclear reactor, then India can hope to have a semblance of sea-based deterrence against China.

Developing long range ballistic missile would have to be an indigenous effort as it comes under global restrictive regimes. Why cannot ISRO with capabilities to propel rockets up to 10,000km help DRDO make 8,000km ballistic missiles? These hard questions need to be examined to produce credible sea-based deterrence.

Counter view: written by (Retd.) Vice Admiral Vijay Shankar.

This acquisition is an extremely perspicacious departure from the past for it is a concrete step towards the translation of the theory and realisation of the larger strategic maritime posture that serves policy.

As far as the economics of the matter is concerned, the deal is a sound one. Kudos are due to our planners who visualised a theory, saw a form and translated it to a force plan and now have given substance to each step of the way.