The four-day visit is unprecedented, NRK reports.
As BarentsObserver previously has reported, the “Sindhuvijay” has been docked far longer than first expected at the Russian yard, following the Indian Navy’s discontent with the Russian weapon systems installed. According to the Indian admirals, the Klab-2 missile system works insufficiently. Following the discontent, the Indian Navy earlier this year, ordered the whole submarine crew home to India, leaving the vessel in Russian hands.
The problems with the submarine come in addition to the troubled Indian-Russian negotiations over the takeover of the aircraft carrier “Vikramaditya” (“Admiral Gorshkov”), currently upgraded at the Sevmash plant, also in Severodvinsk.
Despite the current problems in Severodvinsk, however, Russia continues to support India’s bids for a nuclear-powered sub. India is reportedly in negotiations with Russian authorities about the possible acquisition of two Russian Typhoon-type submarines. The country is also working with the construction of its own nuclear-powered sub. In late 1980s, India leased a nuclear sub from the Soviet Union
See film clip about India’s nuclear submarine ambitions here (YouTube)
