Pacific Fleet has been leased out to India from the end 2011 to 2020

Pacific Fleet has been leased out to India from the end 2011 to 2020.^[14]

Lease to India

Three hundred Indian Navy personnel are being trained in Russia for the operation of the Akula I Improved submarine Nerpa.

• India has finalized a deal with Russia, in which at the end of the lease of these submarines, it has an option to buy them. The submarine will be named INS Chakra as was the previous India-leased Soviet Charlie-I SSGN
• Whereas the Russian Navy's Akula-II could be equipped with 28 nuclear-capable cruise missiles with a striking range of 3,000 km (1,620 nmi; 1,864 mi), the Indian version was reportedly expected to be armed with the 300 km (162 nmi; 186 mi)-range 3M-54 Klub nuclear-capable missiles
• Missiles with ranges greater than 300 km (162 nmi; 186 mi) cannot be exported due to arms control restrictions, since Russia is a signatory to the MTCR treaty.

Nerpa 2008 accident

On 27 October 2008, it was reported that K-152 Nerpa of the Russian Pacific Fleet had begun her sea trials in the Sea of Japan before handover under a lease agreement to the Indian Navy.^[11] On 8 November 2008, while conducting one of these trials, an accidental activation of the halon-based fire-extinguishing system took place in the fore section of the vessel. Within seconds the halon gas had displaced all breathable air from the compartment. As a result, 20 people (17 civilians and 3 seamen)^[17][18] were killed by asphyxiation. Dozens of others suffered freon-related injuries and were evacuated to an unknown port in Primorsky Krai.^[19] This was the worst accident in the Russian navy since the loss of the submarine K-141 Kursk in 2000. The submarine itself did not sustain any serious damage and there was no release of radiation.^[20]