DPG Policy Brief
“The Significance of INS Arighaat”
Authors Commodore Lalit Kapur (Retd.)
Date: September 10, 2024
The induction of INS Arighaat into the Indian Navy on August 29, 2024 has been welcomed with great expectations for the maturing of India’s nuclear triad.
In this Policy Brief, the author traces the evolution of nuclear submarines deployed by the world’s major powers, and assesses India’s own indigenously developed capabilities, as well as the implications for India’s strategic naval power.
In the 70 years since the launch of the first nuclear submarine by the US in 1954, the US, FSU/Russia, the UK, France and China have led the way in developing and deploying several generations of Ship, Submersible, Ballistic, Nuclear (SSBN) platforms. India has been a late entrant, with its nuclear submarine project commencing in the 1990s and leading to the deployment of INS Arihant in 2016.
The author distinguishes between the operating philosophies of SSNs and SSBNs, the former being the preferred attack instrument for naval tasks and the latter for the strategic purpose of carrying nuclear retaliatory capability. He outlines the critical technologies that are required for the SSBN class of submarines: compressed packages for nuclear propulsion, underwater missile launch capability, and doctrinal requirements and communications.
The complexities of designing nuclear propulsion for sea bound compact platforms, the issues of refuelling and maintenance, and the technologies required for pressurised underwater launch of missiles present multiple technological challenges, which India has successfully overcome.
Equally important are the issues of effective ranges of SSBNs, doctrinal adjustments for deploying nuclear warheads mated with missiles, and the necessity of secure and dependable communications emanating from the Nuclear Command Authority (NCA) through the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) to the SSBN.
After detailing the multiple technological hurdles which have been successfully overcome, the author points out that the effectiveness of India’s sea-based nuclear triad, depending on the range of missiles carried, requires 4 to 6 SLBMs.
It is a matter of considerable significance that independent underwater deterrent capability has been developed indigenously by India over the past three decades. INS Arighaat and INS Arihant are operational, as is India’s nuclear triad. However, INS Arighaat only represents the maturing of India’s first generation of SSBNs. There is much work to be done by way of developing higher power reactors, better stealth capability, longer-range missiles, secure communications and better survivability. Continuous technological improvement related to SSBNs is thus a strategic imperative, on which there can be no compromise.
To read this DPG Policy Brief Vol. IX, Issue 22, please click “The Significance of INS Arighaat”.
In this Policy Brief, the author traces the evolution of nuclear submarines deployed by the world’s major powers, and assesses India’s own indigenously developed capabilities, as well as the implications for India’s strategic naval power.
In the 70 years since the launch of the first nuclear submarine by the US in 1954, the US, FSU/Russia, the UK, France and China have led the way in developing and deploying several generations of Ship, Submersible, Ballistic, Nuclear (SSBN) platforms. India has been a late entrant, with its nuclear submarine project commencing in the 1990s and leading to the deployment of INS Arihant in 2016.
The author distinguishes between the operating philosophies of SSNs and SSBNs, the former being the preferred attack instrument for naval tasks and the latter for the strategic purpose of carrying nuclear retaliatory capability. He outlines the critical technologies that are required for the SSBN class of submarines: compressed packages for nuclear propulsion, underwater missile launch capability, and doctrinal requirements and communications.
The complexities of designing nuclear propulsion for sea bound compact platforms, the issues of refuelling and maintenance, and the technologies required for pressurised underwater launch of missiles present multiple technological challenges, which India has successfully overcome.
Equally important are the issues of effective ranges of SSBNs, doctrinal adjustments for deploying nuclear warheads mated with missiles, and the necessity of secure and dependable communications emanating from the Nuclear Command Authority (NCA) through the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) to the SSBN.
After detailing the multiple technological hurdles which have been successfully overcome, the author points out that the effectiveness of India’s sea-based nuclear triad, depending on the range of missiles carried, requires 4 to 6 SLBMs.
It is a matter of considerable significance that independent underwater deterrent capability has been developed indigenously by India over the past three decades. INS Arighaat and INS Arihant are operational, as is India’s nuclear triad. However, INS Arighaat only represents the maturing of India’s first generation of SSBNs. There is much work to be done by way of developing higher power reactors, better stealth capability, longer-range missiles, secure communications and better survivability. Continuous technological improvement related to SSBNs is thus a strategic imperative, on which there can be no compromise.
To read this DPG Policy Brief Vol. IX, Issue 22, please click “The Significance of INS Arighaat”.
