Russia has offered three refurbished Kilo-class diesel-electric attack submarines to the Indian Navy, reports the Diplomat

According to the report, Russia’s JSC United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) has also proposed a significant refurbishment on three of the Indian Navy’s existing Project 877EKM Kilo-class submarines, known locally as Sindhughosh-class. The refurbishment will prolong their operational period by 10 years.

The offer, worth around $1.8 billion, was expected to be submitted at the annual meeting of the Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Technical Commission that was to be held in Goa last month but deferred due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Russian Navy reportedly has three Kilo-class hulls lying in Murmansk which will be refurbished for according to the specifications for the Indian Navy. If the defence ministry gives a green signal, the project could see the Indian Navy get six refurbished Kilo-class submarines in one year intervals from the third year onwards, according to the report.

India originally procured ten Project 877EKM Sindhughosh-class submarines from Russia. Out of the ten, one (INS Sindhurakshak) was lost in an accident in 2013 and another – INS Sindhuvir, a diesel-electric Kilo Class submarine was acquired from India. India handed over the refurbished INS Sindhuvir to the Myanmar Navy, which is looking at procuring its own submarine fleet in the coming years.