In a major boost to the Indian Navy's fire-power, India gets its first nuclear attack submarine. Russia has handed over the much-awaited nuclear-powered attack submarine Nerpa to India on a 10-year lease at a cost of $920 million.

The signing ceremony happened at the Bolshoi Kamen ship building facility in the Primorye region in Russia where the Nerpa is now based. The submarine, capable of remaining underwater for months, will be rechristened as 'INS Chakra’.

According to Defence sources in New Delhi, an Indian crew will sail the Akula II class craft to its home base at the end of January.

AIR correspondent reports that with this, India will be the sixth operator of nuclear submarines in the world.
The nuclear submarine had recently finished sea trials.

The submarine deal had figured during the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh's visit to Russia earlier this month.

The Nerpa, an Akula II-class attack submarine, had originally been scheduled for delivery in 2008, but an accident during sea trials on November 8 that year had forced the Russian authorities to put it on hold.

The Akula-II class submarines are equipped with 28 nuclear-capable cruise missiles with a striking range of 3,000 km. The Indian version is reportedly expected to be armed with the 300-km Club nuclear-capable missiles.

India had funded the completion of the Nerpa nuclear submarine at Amur Shipyard before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.