The Indian government has dismissed a false recent media reports about a purported new agreement with Russia to lease a submarine.
These reports emerged just ahead of the scheduled visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India on 4-5 December 2025.
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The Press Information Bureau’s (PIB) Fact Check Unit, through a post on X, described Bloomberg’s headline “India Clinches $2bn Russia Submarine Deal as Putin Visits” as “misleading.”
According to the PIB, “no new deal” has been signed by the two nations.
The bureau clarified that the submarine lease in question is based on a contract originally signed in March 2019.
The 2019 agreement, valued at approximately $3bn, involves leasing an Akula-class (Project 971 Shchuka-B Class, known by NATO as Akula) nuclear-powered submarine for the Indian Navy.
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By GlobalDataThe Indian media had reported that this vessel, designated Chakra III, will undergo significant refurbishment at a Russian shipyard using mothballed hulls.
However, delivery of this submarine, which was initially scheduled for this year, has been delayed and is now expected in 2028.
Negotiations over the lease had stalled previously due to pricing issues but were recently finalised after Indian officials visited a Russian shipyard in November, Bloomberg reported citing sources familiar with the matter.
The report went on to claim that India will pay around $2bn under the latest arrangement.
While delivery is anticipated within two years, the complexity of the project could lead to further delays, the report claimed based on information from its sources.
According to the publication, the leased Russian attack submarine cannot be used in combat operations. Its primary role is to provide training for Indian naval personnel and to help develop expertise in operating nuclear-powered submarines as India works on its own fleet.
One of the previous Russian submarines leased by India, Chakra II, was returned in 2021 after a ten-year term. Prior to this, India leased the Chakra I submarine from the erstwhile Soviet Union in 1988, which was subsequently returned to Russia in 1991.
In February 2019, India’s Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) gave its approval to indigenously build six submarines for the Indian Navy, at a cost of more than Rs400bn ($4.44bn).
According to data and analytic company GlobalData, the global market for submarines is estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 4.3%, reaching $45bn by 2033.
