Russia to lease nuclear submarine to India

Russia will lease a nuclear powered submarine to India before October, a Russian Navy Staff admiral said on Wednesday.

Previous media reports said that the K-152 Nerpa attack submarine had already been transferred to India on a 10-year lease.

"The submarine is completely ready for transfer. An Indian crew is currently training aboard with Russian instructors," the admiral - who requested anonymity - said.

The training course includes the launching of cruise missiles, he added.

"This should be completed before October: We're running late as it is," the admiral said.

Twenty sailors were killed onboard the submarine as the K-152 Nerpa was undergoing sea trials in the Sea of Japan in November 2008. A fire extinguishing system malfunctioned leading to the discharge of a toxic gas.

The boat is now fully operational after repairs.

The $900-million lease contract was drawn up after Moscow and New Delhi struck a deal in January 2004 where India agreed to fund part of the Nerpa's construction.

The Nerpa was originally scheduled to be inducted into the Indian Navy as INS Chakra by mid-2008.

Super-stealth sub powered by fuel cell

The U212A is an ultra-advanced non-nuclear sub developed for the German Navy.Powered by a revolutionary hydrogen fuel cell, it is almost totally silent.Without the need for combustible fuel, the sub can remain submerged for weeks at time.

CNN's global series i-List takes you to a different country each month. In February, we visit Germany and look at changes shaping the country's economy, culture and social fabric.

Eckernfoerde, Germany (CNN) -- It is almost totally silent, radiates virtually no heat and is constructed entirely from non-magnetic metals.

Nuclear or not, we'll need prefab subs

PERHAPS it was Kevin Rudd's most impossible dream - a submarine fleet to face down China. But while the idea of building 12 of our own big boats is still government policy, experts argue the task is beyond us.

One solution canvassed this week is to go nuclear. The question is whether this would exchange one set of problems for another.

The centrepiece of the 2009 defence white paper was a fleet of 12 new submarines, capable of patrolling off north Asia and equipped with cruise missiles to be used to support US forces in any war with China. They would be conventional submarines and they would be built in South Australia.

The first of these submarines would need to be operational in the early 2020s, to begin replacing the navy's six Collins-class boats.

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Russian Graney class nuclear sub to enter service in 2015

The Russian Navy will receive a second Graney class nuclear-powered multipurpose attack submarine in 2015, a spokesman for the Malakhit design bureau said.

The construction of the Kazan submarine at the Sevmash Shipyard in the northern Russian city of Severodvinsk began in 2010. The first vessel of the Graney class, the Severodvinsk submarine, will enter service by the end of 2011.

"The hull of the Kazan sub has been built, but we still have to make many upgrades compared with the first vessel in the series. We are planning to deliver the submarine to the Navy in 2015," the official told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.

The Kazan will feature more advanced equipment and weaponry than the Severodvinsk, which has been under construction since 1993.

Russian Navy to receive new nuclear attack submarine by yearend

The Russian Navy will receive a new Graney class nuclear-powered multipurpose attack submarine by the end of 2011, a spokesman for the Malakhit design bureau said on Monday.

Construction of the Severodvinsk submarine began in 1993 at the Sevmash Shipyard in the northern Russian city of Severodvinsk but has since been dogged by financial setbacks. It was floated out in June last year.