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INDIAN NAVAL FLEET Akula-class submarine’ Chakra’: Honestly speaking it is fast, furious and deadly as a shark!

MAJOR KULBIR SINGH. Dated: 5/26/2017 2:03:27 PM

MAJOR KULBIR SINGH Jammu, May 25 Ocean demarcations or Maritime security too is a must for the Nation as a whole. India has a huge coast right from Goa to Kutch, Mumbai, Cochin, Chennai, Vishakapatnam, Andamans, Kolkata and then of course the deadly Golden Triangle. In this particular series we will try to bring you closer to the magnum opus over and under the oceans. Project 971 (Shchuka-B, 'Shchuka' meaning "pike", NATO reporting name "Akula") is a nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) first deployed by the Soviet Navy in 1986. It was commissioned by the Indian Navy as INS Chakra II in April 2012. The class is also known under the name Bars (meaning "snow leopard"). There are four subclasses or flights of Shchuka, consisting of the original seven Akula Is, commissioned between 1984 and 1990; six Improved Akulas, commissioned between 1991 and 2009; one Akula II, commissioned in 1995; and one Akula III, commissioned in 2001. The Russians call all of the submarines Shchuka-B, regardless of modifications. Some potential for confusion may exist, as the name Akula meaning "shark" in Russian) was used by the Soviets for a different submarine, the Project 941, which is known in the West as the Typhoon class. By contrast, the Project 971 was named Shchuka-B by the Soviets but designated as the "Akula class" by the West after the name of the lead ship, K-284.