Indian nuclear submarine

As the Indian Navy continues to bolster its submarine fleet, two distinguished Navy veterans recount their experiences with India’s first nuclear submarine, INS Chakra. Addressing the press on the eve of 50th Navy Day, on December 3, Indian Navy chief Admiral R. Hari Kumar said, “Modernization of our submarine arm is underway. We have commissioned four of the six boats of the indigenous Scorpene-class submarines. This year, we commissioned the third boat, Karanj in March and the fourth boat, Vela in November. The fifth boat Vagir has also been launched.” The EurAsian Times spoke to two distinguished veterans from the Indian Navy’s silent arm, who recounted their journey in the elite service including their time onboard INS Chakra. Indian Navy chief, Admiral R. Hari Kumar. INS Chakra was taken on lease during the end of the Cold War. The Indian Navy had received a Charlie-class nuclear cruise missile submarine for a decade from the erstwhile Soviet Union after signing an agreement in July 1987. This was the first time a nation had leased out a nuclear submarine. A Soviet Account Soviet submariner Alexander Ivavovich Terenov, who served as the Commanding Officer of the SSGN K-43 penned down his experiences while onboard INS Chakra in his book, Under three flags – The Saga of the submarine Cruiser K-43/Chakra. He chronicled “many incidents of submarine malfunction”. The outboard pipes and equipment corroded fast due to the high air temperature, humidity, and salinity. The mai...

Nuclear powered submarine in India:India has silently launched its third Arihant-class submarine at the Ship Building Centre (SCB) in Visakhapatnam. It is a nuke submarine, the launch of which was reported by UK-based Janes Defence Weekly based on satellite imagery sources. What did the UK-based magazine report? Janes Defence Weekly in its December 29 report stated the following: 1- The submersible ballistic nuclear submarine (SSBN), also known as S4, was launched by India on 23 November 2021. 2- It was later relocated to near the fitting-out dock that was presently occupied by INS Arighat, India's second nuke submarine. 3- The satellite imagery cited by the magazine confirms that at 7,000-tonnes, the S4 SSBN is slightly larger, with a load waterline measurement of 125.4m as compared with 111.6m of the 6,000-tonne INS Arihant, the lead boat in this class. 4- The S4 – and successive boats – were given the ‘Arihant-stretch’ variants tag. 5- The newly launched boats' additional length accommodates expansion of the submarine’s vertical launch system which has doubled to support eight (missile) launch tubes, enabling the SSBN to carry eight K-4 SLBM which is currently under development. Who developed India's third nuclear submarine? The third Arihant class submarine has been jointly developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), select Indian Navy (IN) personnel and Russian scientists and technicians. Significance o...

INS Arihant is India’s first nuclear-powered submarine. The ship submersible ballistic, nuclear (SSBN) submarine was launched at the Indian Navy’s dockyard in Visakhapatnam, which is the headquarters of India’s Eastern Naval Command. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has inaugurated the vessel into the Indian Navy, asserted that the indigenously built submarine would be used for self defence. The name Arihant derives from two words – Ari meaning enemy and Hanth meaning destroy. Arihant, India’s first indigenously built nuclear submarine, cost $2.9bn. It was jointly developed by the Indian Navy, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at the naval dockyard in Visakhapatnam. Russian designers assisted in building the vessel. Other companies involved in the development of the submarine are Tata Power, a division of Tata Group and Larsen & Toubro (L&T), a technology, engineering, construction and manufacturing company. The project, earlier known as the advanced technology vessel (ATV), has been under development since 1998. Construction of five more nuclear-powered submarines is also being planned. According to a report in the Indian Express, the hulls of the second and third submarines have already been constructed. Arihant will be commissioned into the Indian Navy after extensive sea trials for at least two years. Initially harbour acceptance trials (HATs) would be conducted followed by sea acceptance trials (SATs...

Amid geopolitical tensions in the Indo-Pacific region, India has quietly launched its third Arihant-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine — the S4 SSBN — at a secretive ship-building center in Visakhapatnam. The development was reported by Janes Defence Weekly, citing satellite imagery. Arihant-Class Submarines The Arihant-class, named after the country’s first nuclear-powered submarine — INS Arihant — is a class of Indian nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines that are being built for the Indian Navy. It was launched at the Indian Navy’s dockyard located in Visakhapatnam, the headquarters of Eastern Naval Command. The project, earlier called the advanced technology vessel (ATV), has been under development since 1998. All the boats in the class, those that have been built, and those that are planned, share some common characteristics. The most obvious feature is the advantage these nuclear-powered submarines provide over conventional diesel-electric ones. Diesel-electric submarines have to reach up to the surface every day to release carbon dioxide produced by the generator. On the other hand, nuclear-powered 80MW pressurized water reactor (PWR) submarines can stay underwater for long durations without the risk of detection. File Image: Submarine The submarines in this class have been scarcely documented in photographs. An analysis of the images that are available confirms that a few aspects of these ships bear a Several of the Kilo-class vessels that are...

A new submarine promises to give the world’s most populous democratic nation a powerful second-strike nuclear capability. The INS Arihant, India’s first nuclear ballistic-missile submarine, will finally give the country nuclear weapons that could survive a surprise first strike and go on to deal a crushing retaliatory blow to the enemy. The new sub will complete India’s triad of air, land and sea nuclear forces. India tested its first weapon, an eight-kiloton device nicknamed Smiling Buddha, in 1974. Although small in yield, the device was a remarkable technological achievement that thrust the young country into the exclusive, so-called “nuclear club” that had until then consisted of the United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, France and China. India is believed to have 520 kilograms of plutonium—enough for, Nuclear-armed submarines are an ideal basing solution for a country such as India. While less accurate than land-based missiles and less flexible than air-launched weapons, ballistic-missile submarines are the most difficult to destroy in a first strike. Hiding in the vastness of the oceans, a nuclear-armed submarine is nearly invulnerable. And, in the logic of nuclear deterrence strategy, an invulnerable nuclear arsenal makes for an invulnerable country. The Arihant program goes back more than three decades, to the vaguely named By 1995, ship-sized reactor trials were underway at the Bhabha Centre in Mumbai. According to Combat Ships of the World, the reactor had...

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) in a statement said, “The missile was tested to a predetermined range and impacted the target area in the Bay of Bengal with very high accuracy. All operational and technological parameters of the weapon system have been validated.” The successful user training launch of the SLBM by INS Arihant is significant to prove crew competency and validate the SSBN (subsurface ballistic nuclear) submarine programme, a key element of India’s nuclear deterrence capability. “A robust, survivable and assured retaliatory capability is in keeping with India’s policy to have ‘Credible Minimum Deterrence' That underpins its ‘No First Use’ commitment.” MoD added. Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari in August had reaffirmed the sanctity of nuclear weapon’s deterrence value calling it “still effective”. This, as per the Chief, has been proven by the skirmishes which continue between Russia and Ukraine while NATO countries under the US leadership are assisting Ukraine to continue holding its ground against Russia. “Nuclear deterrence is still effective. It is an important takeaway for us. Skirmishes have been going on for over six months under a nuclear overhang.” he said. The INS Arihant is the first of the four Arihant class attack submarines developed indigenously and is seen as an important component of India’s nuclear triad. The submarine is of 6,000-tonne displacement with a length of 110 metres and a breadth of 11 metres. These submarines are designed to carry K4...

The Indian Navy’s much-delayed submarine programme is finally seeing some movement. After a lot of deliberations, a German shipbuilder has agreed to bid for the Navy’s Rs 43,000 crore Project-75 to build six advanced conventional submarines with better sensors and weapons as well as an air-independent propulsion (AIP) system. German defence minister Boris Pistorius, during his India visit, has pitched for building six advanced submarines in India under the Modi government’s strategic partnership model. Pistorius also paid a visit to defence PSU Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) in Mumbai. German shipbuilder Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) and MDL, on June 7, signed an MoU to collaborate on making six stealth submarines in India under Project-75. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with his German counterpart Boris Pistorius. (Photo: ANI) As per the “non-binding and non-financial” MoU, TKMS will contribute to engineering and design of the submarines as well as provide consultancy support. MDL will be responsible for constructing and delivering the submarines. India had sourced four submarines from Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) of Germany in the late 1980s. Two of these were put together at MDL in 1992 and 1994 while the other two came from Germany. HDW has since been acquired by TKMS. Project-75 was initiated way back in November 2007 and ran into rough weather due to certain specifications demanded by the Indian Navy, which were not amenable to submarine manufacturers...

In March 2021, the Times of India The SSN program, estimated optimistically to cost $12 billion ($2 billion per submarine), could affect the balance of power in the Indian Ocean as India seeks to offset the growing presence and capability of China’s rapidly expanding navy. Indian Submarine Strategy and China In the last two decades, the PLA Navy has secured access to bases in the Indian Ocean to the west and east of India, and periodically dispatches warships and submarines to patrol those waters. Long-running tensions between China and India meanwhile have mounted, culminating in June 2020 in a deadly clash on the Himalayan border in which dozens of soldiers were killed. INS Arihant New Delhi’s decision to focus on submarines concludes a Rawat favored submarines over carriers because the latter make for large and indiscrete targets, and China has developed a wide variety of long-range air, sea- and land-based missiles to attack carriers. Attack submarines, by contrast, are ideal for navies facing numerically superior adversaries because underwater stealth allows them to (mostly) pick their battles, pouncing upon vulnerable merchant convoys or unsuspecting warships. Furthermore, even a relatively small submarine force can compel an adversary to devote enormous resources to systematically escorting merchant convoys and valuable warships, lest they sustain insupportable losses. Those costs were so high that in Nuclear Power Under the Indian Ocean India is on its second lease...