![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Industry and naval sources said Arihant’s on-board systems had ‘broadly’ been duplicated in the two follow-on boats, including Arighat and the S4, which awaits formal naming.Įxact details of Arihant’s powerplant are unclear, but it is understood to be propelled by an 82.5 MW pressurised light water reactor (LWR), turning a single seven-bladed screw to achieve submerged sprint speeds of 24 kt, or about 10 kt on the surface. The Hindu had reported in January 2018 that water had rushed into the boat ten months ago, after a hatch at the rear of the platform was left open, a claim that was never officially confirmed nor denied. Delayed by some 15-18 years, the SSBN was scheduled to conduct its first deterrence patrol in 2017, but was reportedly damaged early that year after its propulsion compartment was flooded while in Visakhapatnam harbour. Meanwhile, Arihant, which was also constructed at the SCB, was quietly commissioned into the Indian Navy in August 2016 and completed its 20-day maiden deterrence patrol over two years in November 2018. Such sensitive cooperation is also one of the underpinnings of the enduring strategic and military cooperation between Moscow and New Delhi. But Arihant’s launch ceremony in July 2009 was the first time it was publicly acknowledged through the presence of the Russian naval design team and their country’s then ambassador V.I. Russia’s involvement in the programme in designing the SSBNs and miniaturising their reactors have long been an open, though downplayed secret amongst naval, atomic and strategic community personnel. India plans on eventually fielding at least four such SSBNs, with an option to build two more, to add maritime strike capability to its existing land and aerial-based capacity in delivering strategic weapons.Īlso read: In Modi-Putin Meet, What Was Omitted From Mutually Agreed on Pacts Is Significant The K-4 SLBM, however, remains under development and its pontoon launch is anticipated.ĭeveloped jointly by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), select Indian Navy (IN) personnel and Russian scientists and technicians, the S4 boat and the follow-on, under-fabrication S4* like the previous two SSBNs, comprise a critical part of India’s three-tier credible nuclear deterrent. This, it said, would enable the SSBN to carry eight K-4 submarine launched ballistic missile missiles (SLBM), or alternately 24 K-15 SLBMs with respective strike ranges of 3,500 km and 750 km, respectively. The magazine went on to infer that the satellite imagery indicated that the newly launched boats’ additional length ‘accommodates expansion of the submarine’s vertical launch system which has doubled to support eight (missile) launch tubes’. It categorised the S4 – and successive boats – as ‘Arihant-stretch’ variants. The British publication further reported that satellite imagery had confirmed that at 7,000-tonnes, the S4 SSBN was ‘slightly larger’, with a load water line measurement of 125.4m compared with 111.6m of the 6,000-tonne INS Arihant, the lead boat in this class. Consequently, the Indian press had not reported the S4 SSBN’s launch. Arighat was launched in November 2014, and currently awaits commissioning that has reportedly been delayed possibly due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Janes said. In its December 29 report, the magazine declared that the submersible ballistic nuclear submarine (SSBN), known simply as S4, was launched on November 23 and had been ‘relocated’ to near the ‘fitting-out wharf’ that was presently occupied by INS Arighat, the second such nuclear-armed missile submarine. Chandigarh: India has quietly launched its third Arihant-class nuclear-powered missile submarine at the secretive Ship Building Centre (SCB) in Visakhapatnam, reported UK-based Janes Defence Weekly, citing satellite imagery sources. ![]()
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