Indian Navy’s only nuclear-powered submarine, INS Chakra, has suffered a damage and a board of inquiry has been ordered into it, Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba said on Friday.
“There has been some damage to her sonar domes where two panels have been dislodged. A board of inquiry has been instituted,” he said.
INS Chakra is a nuclear-powered submarine which was taken by India on lease from Russia in 2012 for a period of 10 years.
Lanba said a joint team of Indian and Russian experts has already examined the submarine to assess the damage.
“It was a joint team of Indian and Russian experts who examined the submarine. We have already ordered the panels,” Lanba told a press conference ahead of the Navy Day on December 4.
He hoped that the submarine will be back into action “sooner than later”.
INS Chakra is propelled by a 190 MW nuclear reactor. The submarine had suffered the damage around two-and-a-half months back.
Lanba also categorically rejected Russian media reports that the Navy had allowed a technical team from the US to visit the submarine.
“No US official has even seen it from close quarters,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“No US official has even seen it from close quarters,” he said.
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