So, why is Russia willing to sell an attack nuclear submarine? Well, honestly, they just have way too many active subs underwater. These things are only really super effective in wartime. In peacetime, they're actually less intimidating than, say, a destroyer or even a few frigates.
After all, you can see those warships on the surface. When their missile launchers or main guns are aimed at you, it definitely makes you nervous. But nuclear subs? They just hide in the dark. If they get exposed, they become targets for everyone. You can't even scare anyone with them normally. Plus, the maintenance costs are crazy expensive. In peacetime, it's just not worth it.
And selling a nuclear sub to India wouldn't threaten Russia at all, so there are practically no worries.
"I would be absolutely delighted, Mr. Mavi! And I believe our Indian government would be deeply honored to have this opportunity to purchase this nuclear submarine from your country," the Indian Minister of Defense said, feeling incredibly lucky today. He had originally thought landing a deal for MiG-33 fighters on this trip to Russia would already be a huge win.
He never expected Russia to be so warm and welcoming, even willing to sell an attack nuclear submarine along with it! This was an opportunity they had to seize, no matter the price, even if they had to borrow money. After all, it's a nuclear submarine! India just couldn't build one domestically.
What the Minister didn't know was that in his previous life, Russia had actually leased an Akula-class nuclear submarine to India for 50 million US dollars a year. But guess what? The Indians crashed it due to mishandling! The sub's sonar equipment was severely damaged, making the submarine completely useless for combat.
Russia was pretty helpless about that unfortunate situation. They probably wished they had just sold the nuclear sub to India in the first place. That way, even if it got damaged, they could have charged a high repair fee. But with a lease, the Indians basically broke their nuclear sub, paid a bit of rent and repair costs, and just gave it back to Russia...
"Please come with me, Minister Hasan Mangalawa," Mavi said, arranging for the Indian Minister to get into a special car and head to the Russian Northern Fleet base. Some officials in the Russian Navy had also considered leasing the submarine, but based on Mavi's suggestion, they decided against it. After all, when something isn't yours, you're just not going to take as much care of it.
He worried that in the end, a nuclear submarine that could have served for another 20 years might only last 10 due to damage from improper maintenance. Only someone with Mavi's experience would truly understand that kind of hidden loss.
An hour later, when Mavi's convoy, carrying India's Minister of Defense, General Hasan Mangalawa, arrived at the Russian Northern Fleet base, they saw a light grey Akula-class nuclear submarine floating at the dock, taking on oxygen.
Its streamlined body and sleek outline had the group of Indian officers practically drooling. You could clearly see from their eyes just how much they wanted to own this super-powerful combat submarine.
Mavi, doing his job, introduced the submarine to the Indian Minister. "Minister Hasan Mangalawa, this is our Russian Northern Fleet's Type 971 attack nuclear submarine. Its very presence makes even the US 7th Fleet think twice. If it were lurking in the Arabian Sea or near the Bay of Bengal, I believe it would be a huge threat to pirates or armed groups in the area."
Mavi's description successfully made General Hasan Mangalawa imagine how awesome it would be for the Indian Navy to patrol the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal in this Russian attack nuclear submarine. He thought about the Pakistani and Myanmar navies – would they still dare to mess with India then?
Clearly tempted, India's Minister of Defense, Hasan Mangalawa, looked at Mavi and asked, "Mr. Mavi, now can you tell me, what price is your government willing to sell this Akula-class nuclear submarine for?"
Whether in this life or the last, the Indian attitude of being obsessed with military hardware and their habit of just buying, buying, buying whenever they can would never change. So, 3.5 generation fighters, nuclear-powered submarines, aircraft carriers – if they could buy it, India would definitely jump at the chance.
"Alright, Minister Hasan Mangalawa," Mavi said. "This Akula-class nuclear submarine you see here is priced at 2.8 billion US dollars. Our Russian government currently only plans to sell one of these." The actual cost to build a third-generation nuclear submarine wasn't that high, around 185 million US dollars. Mavi was totally inflating the price, knowing Indians had money and were easily... well, let's just say they weren't the shrewdest negotiators.
"2.8 billion US dollars, you say? Mr. Mavi, what if we also wanted 30 MiG-33 fighter jets? How much would that cost?" Minister of Defense Hasan Mangalawa needed to crunch the numbers carefully. This arms deal with Russia might end up using up both this year's and next year's military budgets. But he felt it was worth it; after all, an attack nuclear submarine wasn't something you could just find anywhere.
"MiG-33 fighter jets are 43 million US dollars each, so 30 would be 1.29 billion US dollars," Mavi calculated calmly. "Adding the Type 971 nuclear submarine, the total comes to 4.09 billion US dollars." The prices he gave for both the fighters and the submarine were significantly inflated. This was specifically to prevent India from reselling Russia's military hardware to other countries for a profit.
The US had actually lost out to them this way before. They gave India a favorable price, and then India just resold the stuff. That's why India ended up on the blacklist of quite a few countries.
"Mr. Mavi, look, if India buys so many fighter jets and a nuclear submarine from your country, can we get a discount? Maybe a favorable price?" General Hasan Mangalawa tried to appeal to emotion and reason. "Last year, our Indian Navy supported your government with an order for 6 frigates. We could absolutely maintain a long-term cooperative relationship in the future."
"This price isn't set by me, Minister Hasan Mangalawa," Mavi replied. "You know I don't have the authority to do that. Besides, just a while ago, the Americans warned us to try and avoid military transactions with your country. I'm actually taking a bit of a risk doing this."
Mavi wasn't going to give India a discount. He was betting that the Indians would pay up no matter how expensive it was. Otherwise, they'd just keep getting bullied by Pakistan. There's nothing that makes people see red like facing an enemy. He was confident that out of hatred, the Indian Minister would think things through.
...
"Alright then, Mr. Mavi. I'll go back and have a good discussion with Mr. President!"