No delay in acquiring Russian nuke sub: Indian Navy
By IANSThursday, January 22, 2009
NEW DELHI - The Indian Navy said Friday there was ‘no delay’ in its acquisition of a Russian nuclear-powered submarine though technical glitches could push the delivery back.
‘There is no delay as far as we are concerned (in acquiring an Akula-class submarine). I don’t know where these reports have appeared,’ Indian Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta told reporters on the sidelines of a defence function here.
‘The only delay is that it has to go for tests after the incident (in which a number of Russian sailors were killed when poisonous gas was accidentally released during the submarine’s sea trials last November),’ Mehta added.
Answering a question on the construction of six Scorpene submarines in India, he replied: ‘The project is well on time.’
The first of the French-designed submarines is currently being built at Mumbai’s state-owned Mazagaon Docks Limited (MDL).
