Quite the contrary. The requirements were always driven by the Navy which has both pro-Western and pro-Eastern lobbies. It's just that those requirements changed over time based on threat perceptions. If Russia had managed to develop a half-decent follow-on to the Kilo, we'd have signed for half a dozen by now.Just words, nothing more. It's nothing more than political messaging, indicating there's room for other countries to involve themselves in the program without need for criticism or undercutting competition for political reasons, and both sides will have to compete and work alongside each other.
Unfortunately for us, the Chinese seem to have acquired Lada class tech and gone on to build the Yuan/Hangor series around it. The hull shape is nearly identical. Mere coincidence? Probably not.
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