MUMBAI, March 5: The ninth `Kilo' class submarine, the INS Sindhurakshak, joined the Indian Navy's western fleet in Mumbai after a 70-day maiden voyage of over 8,000 nautical miles.The submarine was received at the naval dockyard, Mumbai, by Vice Admiral A R Tandon, Flag Officer Commanding-in-chief Western Naval Command (FOC-in-C West). The new submarine is expected to give the Indian navy's underwater arm a quantum leap, since it has not received a new submarine in four years.Originally built for the Russian navy by shipbuilders Rubin, INS Sindhurakshak was bought by the Indian navy last year after the Russian navy failed to buy it.The submarine was commissioned in St Petersburg on December 24 last year, by the Indian ambassador to Russia, Ronen Sen, and is the first of two Project 877 EKM submarines which India has contracted to buy from Russia.Sindhurakshak is a `Kilo' class diesel electric attack submarine (SSK), of which the Indian navy already operates eight. One of them, INS Sindhuvir, iscurrently undergoing a long refit in Severodvinsk, northern Russia. The submarine is the first of a massive billion dollar arms package from Russia under negotiation for the Indian Navy. In the pipeline are three Project 1135 modified Krivak III frigates and three Kamov Ka-31 `Helix' Airborne Early Warning (AEW) helicopters.
