The third SSBN, undergoing trials ahead of her commissioning as INS Aridhaman early next year, is slightly bigger than the first two, INS Arihant & INS Arighaat, and consequently capable of carrying more long range nuclear-tipped missiles.
Significantly, INS Arighaat is also capable of carrying some K-4 missiles, which have a strike range of over 3,000-km, unlike her forerunner INS Arihant that is armed only with the 750-km range K-15 missiles, sources told TOI.
This is crucial for credible strategic deterrence amid the continuing military confrontation with China. Capable of staying submerged for months, SSBNs are most secure, survivable and stealthy platforms for second-strike capabilities, which in turn deter an adversary from launching a surprise first strike.
The commissioning of INS Arighaat, which has a 6,000-tonne displacement and four silos on its ‘hump’ for vertical missiles launch, was conducted at a secret ship-building centre in Vizag, with defence minister Rajnath Singh, CDS General Anil Chauhan, Navy chief Admiral Dinesh Tripathi and DRDO chief Samir Kamat in attendance.
“INS Arighaat will further strengthen India’s nuclear triad, enhance nuclear deterrence, help in establishing strategic balance and peace in the region, and play a decisive role in the country’s security,” Singh said.
Recalling former PM Vajpayee’s “political will” that put India on a par with nuclear weapon states by conducting the Pokhran-II tests in 1998, Singh said, “It is essential for us to develop rapidly in every field, including defence, especially in today’s geopolitical scenario. Along with economic prosperity, we need a strong military. Our govt is working on mission mode to ensure that our soldiers possess top-quality weapons and platforms made on Indian soil.”
Indigenous technological improvements on INS Arighaat make it “significantly more advanced” than its predecessor Arihant, which became fully operational in 2018. “The two together will enhance India’s capability to deter potential adversaries and safeguard its national interests. INS Arighaat’s hull and size may be the same as INS Arihant but she is a much more capable version with lot of internal engineering upgrades,” an official said.
INS Aridhaman and the fourth under-construction SSBN in turn, will be even more potent. With a 7,000-tonne displacement & 125-metre long, they will be able to carry larger number of K-4 missiles. The four submarines, built under the classified advanced technology vessel project launched in 1990s at a cost of over Rs 90,000 crore, are of course less than half the size of SSBNs of countries like the US, China and Russia.
China has six Jin-class SSBNs, with 10,000-km range JL-3 missiles, apart from six nuclear-powered attack submarines (called SSNs, meant conventional warfare). The US, in turn, has 14 Ohio-class SSBNs and 53 SSNs.
India is also working on a plan to eventually build 13,500-tonne SSBNs with much more powerful 190 MW reactors. Parallelly, as was reported by TOI earlier, a Rs 40,000 crore project to indigenously construct two 6,000-tonne ‘hunter-killer’ SSNs, armed with torpedoes, anti-ship and land-attack missiles, is now before the PM-led Cabinet Committee on Security for the final nod after repeated iterations and inter-ministerial consultations.