Reports noted that Russia’s state arms exporter Rosoboronexport Company will sign a $1.8 billion deal with Vietnam to build and deliver six Kilo-class diesel-electric submarines with in a year. Admiralty Shipyards will be assigned to fulfill this task. The Kilo-class submarines have earned the nickname ‘Black Hole’ for their ability to avoid detection and are designed for anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface-ship warfare as well as for general reconnaissance and patrol missions. The quietest diesel engine-driven submarine has a displacement of 2,300 tons, can reach a maximum depth of 350 meters (1,200 feet), and has a range of 6,000 miles. It is also equipped with six 533-mm torpedo tubes. It is believed that Russia has exported 29 submarine of the same class to China, Poland, Algeria, India and Romania1.

• 1. “Vietnam Orders Six Kilo Class Russian Submarines,“ Defence News, April 27, 2009, at http://www.india-defence.com/reports/4343