India’s Nuclear-Powered Ballistic Missile Submarine INS Arihant has cleared all deep sea and weapons firing trials and is waiting for clearance from the Indian Navy to be officially inducted into the force. It will soon join India’s underwater fleet and assume operational duties in service to the nation.
INS Arihant will guarantee India a second strike nuclear capability against arch rivals China and Pakistan. It completes India’s Nuclear Triad, a capability that allows a country to launch a nuclear missile from Land, Air and Sea. INS Arihant has four vertical launch tubes, which can carry 12 (three per launch tube) smaller K-15 missiles or four larger K-4 missiles. The K-4 has a longer range of 3,500 km and has completed all trials.
Advanced Technology Vessels (ATV) Project
Constituted in the late 1980’s, the main aim of the project was to equip India with a second strike platform capable of launching retaliatory strikes against hostile states.
India realized the significance of deterrence during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war, US in support of its ally Pakistan dispatched ‘Task force 74’ led by USS Enterprise into the Bay of Bengal to intervene in India’s fight for Bangladesh.
Realizing the immense fire power the carrier group, India requested the intervention of Russia which dispatched its nuclear powered submarines to trial the task force. It was only for the interference of the Soviet’s the day was saved for India.
Soon India setup the Advanced Technology Vessels (ATV) project with the sole purpose of constructing nuclear powered submarines which could carry nuclear tipped ballistic missiles. The exact events pertaining to the project was shrouded in secrecy and not much is known about the vessels constructed under the program. The project was cleared as a ‘black project’ and was put under direct control of the PMO. The project is believed to be cleared in the early 90’s and was accelerated soon after India successfully completed ‘Smiling Buddha’.
The major hurdle in realizing the project was miniaturizing the nuclear reactor for powering the submarine. India’s leading atomic research organization, ‘BARC’ was put in charge of designing and fabricating a nuclear reactor to power the submarine. BARC designed, pressurized water reactor (PWR) using enriched uranium as fuel at its Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research Centre at Kalpakkam. The reactor was capable of producing 83 MW of power and was labelled ‘S-1’ and consisted of the reactor, control systems and the shielding tank, the reactor went critical on 11th November 2013.
The state owned shipyard HSL, Vizag was put in charge of the project. The work on the submarine began at a fully enclosed dry dock at Vishakhapatnam. At the heart of the sub was a 83 MW PWR reactor and the sub itself was designed based on the Russian Akula class submarine. Leading private industries were also extensively involved in the project, L&T provided the hull, BEL and HEC was crucial in developing the reactor and shielding compartments, Tata power pitched in with its high end control systems.
The lead vessel of the class ‘INS Arihant’ was launched on 25th July 2009 at Vishakhapatnam. Dedicating the submarine to the nation, PM openly acknowledged and lauded sustained Russian support for the program. The submarine then underwent an extensive fitting out process and by the late 2012 was then moved to docks for sustained harbour trials for system tests and validation. The submarine underwent repeated controlled submerged tests for hull pressure tests. The submarine was repeatedly put through extensive tests to analyse its high pressure capabilities.
INS Aridhaman
INS Aridhaman is the second Arihant-class submarine.She is the second nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine being built by India. She is being built under the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project to build nuclear submarines at the Ship Building Centre in Visakhapatnam. This submarine will have double the number of missile hatches than its predecessor INS Arihant giving it the ability to carry more missiles. This will have a more powerful reactor than its predecessor.
What makes INS Aridhaman more deadlier than its predecessor INS Arihant :::
INS Aridhaman is the second nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine being built by India. She is being built under the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project to build nuclear submarines at the Ship Building Centre in Visakhapatnam. Even though the same class as INS Arihant, she will feature 8 launch tubes instead of the 4 giving her double the firepower of Arihant. Thus she could carry 24 K-15 Sagarika short range SLBMs or 8 K-4 long range SLBMs.
She will also feature more powerful reactor than her predecessor.
The boat will have a seven-blade propeller powered by a pressurised water reactor. She can achieve a maximum speed of 12–15 knots (22–28 km/h) on water surface and 24 knots (44 km/h) underwater.
The submarine has eight launch tubes in its hump. She can carry up to 24 K-15 Sagarika missiles (each with a range of 750 km or 470 mi), or 8 of the under-development K-4 missiles (with a range of 3,500 km or 2,200 mi).
INS Aridhaman will be fitted with the sonar ISS (Integrated Sonar Suite), state-of-the-art sonar developed by NPOL DRDO. It is a unified submarine sonar and tactical control system, which includes all types of sonar (passive, surveillance, ranging, intercept, obstacle avoidance and active). It also features an underwater communications system. The hull features twin flank-array sonars and Rafael broadband expendable anti-torpedo countermeasures.
Engine and Performance
The Arihant Class submarine will propelled by one seven-blade propeller which will be powered by a Pressurised Water Reactor(PWR) (nuclear). In a PWR, the primary coolant (water) is pumped under high pressure to the reactor core where it is heated by the energy generated by the fission of atoms. The heated water then flows to a steam generator where it transfers its thermal energy to a secondary system where steam is generated and flows to turbines which, in turn, spin an electric generator.
The submarine can achieve a maximum speed of 12-15 knots (22-28 km/h) when on surface and 24 Knots (44 km/h) when submerged.The depth to which submarine will be submerged is from 300m to 400m.
Sensors and Processing System
INS Aridhaman will be fitted with sonar ISS (Integrated Sonar Suite),State-of-art sonar integrated sonar system USHUS sonar developed by Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL) of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), India. The submarine will also have Panchendriya sunar which is a unified submarine sonar and tactical control system, and it includes all types of sonar (passive, surveillance, ranging, intercept, obstacle avoidance and active).It is used for detecting and tracking enemy submarines, surface vessels, and torpedoes and can be used for underwater communication and avoiding obstacles.
The hull features twin flank-array sonars and Rafael broadband expendable anti-torpedo countermeasures.
Armament
INS Aridhaman has eight launch tubes in its hump.It can carry up to 24 K-15 Sagarika missile each with a range of 750 km (470 mi) or 8 of the under-development k-4 missiles SLBM (with a range of 3,500 km (2200 mi).The submarine also integrated with 6 torpedo tubes of 21” (533 mm).
Also the work on INS Varsha is on full swing according to recent satellite images. INS Varsha is a new naval base being developed under Project Varsha for the Indian Navy. This base will be the home of the navy’s new fleet of nuclear submarines and ships. It is designed to support the fleet of 8-12 nuclear-powered ballistic missile and attack submarines to be built for the Indian Navy. It will also have underground pens to hide the submarines from spy satellites and protect them from enemy air attacks.
To accommodate this expanding fleet, work is underway on a new naval base on India’s Eastern Coast at Rambilli in the state of Andhra Pradesh, called INS Varsha. The new base is specifically designed to host nuclear submarines, both SSBNs and SSNs, and is only 50 km away from the port city of Vishakhapatnam that is home to the Shipbuilding Centre (SBC) that integrates India’s nuclear submarines. This base will likely feature de-gaussing facilities as well as underground submarine pens linked to open water by access tunnels. The onset of a deep diving nuclear submarine fleet has also played a role in India’s Cabinet Committee of Security according final approval to a long pending proposal for the procurement of two deep submergence rescue vessels (DSRVs). The two new DSRVs cleared for procurement from a U.K.-based firm will be hosted by two new submarine tender ships currently under construction at a public shipyard. India last operated a DSRV in 1989 called INS Nistar when it had just started operating its first nuclear boat, a Charlie class SSN leased from the Soviet Union.
Like China’s massive nuclear submarine base at Hainan Island, the depth of water at Rambilli will allow submarines to use the base without being detected by satellites. This secrecy is crucial for SSBNs, which must remain undetected when they leave for months long patrols, carrying nuclear tipped ballistic missiles.
For years, the ministry of defence (MoD) has refused to acknowledge the existence of the base.
For communicating with its emerging nuclear fleet, which already includes the INS Chakra, an Akula 2 leased from Russia, and soon the Arihant, the IN has set up a new very low frequency (VLF) transmitting station at INS Kattabomman near the southern tip of mainland India. INS Kattabomman is an advancement over an existing VLF station located in its vicinity, which was established in the 1980s with U.S. help, in terms of range and data transfer capability, among other aspects. In 2014, extreme low frequency (ELF) transmitters were added, clearly indicative of a need to communicate with deeply submerged submarines.
Also the work on INS Varsha is on full swing according to recent satellite images. INS Varsha is a new naval base being developed under Project Varsha for the Indian Navy. This base will be the home of the navy’s new fleet of nuclear submarines and ships. It is designed to support the fleet of 8-12 nuclear-powered ballistic missile and attack submarines to be built for the Indian Navy. It will also have underground pens to hide the submarines from spy satellites and protect them from enemy air attacks.
To accommodate this expanding fleet, work is underway on a new naval base on India’s Eastern Coast at Rambilli in the state of Andhra Pradesh, called INS Varsha. The new base is specifically designed to host nuclear submarines, both SSBNs and SSNs, and is only 50 km away from the port city of Vishakhapatnam that is home to the Shipbuilding Centre (SBC) that integrates India’s nuclear submarines. This base will likely feature de-gaussing facilities as well as underground submarine pens linked to open water by access tunnels. The onset of a deep diving nuclear submarine fleet has also played a role in India’s Cabinet Committee of Security according final approval to a long pending proposal for the procurement of two deep submergence rescue vessels (DSRVs). The two new DSRVs cleared for procurement from a U.K.-based firm will be hosted by two new submarine tender ships currently under construction at a public shipyard. India last operated a DSRV in 1989 called INS Nistar when it had just started operating its first nuclear boat, a Charlie class SSN leased from the Soviet Union.
Like China’s massive nuclear submarine base at Hainan Island, the depth of water at Rambilli will allow submarines to use the base without being detected by satellites. This secrecy is crucial for SSBNs, which must remain undetected when they leave for months long patrols, carrying nuclear tipped ballistic missiles.
For years, the ministry of defence (MoD) has refused to acknowledge the existence of the base.
While the Arihant will naturally serve as a training platform for crews that will man its successor boats, just as the Chakra has been used to train the Arihant’s crew, like the latter it too will perform direct security missions. The Arihant’s reactor could be considered to be similar to late second generation VM series submarine reactors given acknowledged Russian assistance in this sphere. Such reactors needed refueling every 7-10 years at normal power consumption levels and the core lifetimes are sufficient for up to 5000 hours of journeying. This would be adequate for limited deterrence missions in potential patrol areas. Indeed, as the then IN Chief of Staff, Nirmal Verma stated in 2010, “India’s nuclear triad is there when it is commissioned,” indicating clear intent to mount deterrence patrols using the Arihant.
At the time of the Arihant’s launch in 2009, the outgoing Russian ambassador to India, Vyacheslav Trubinikov, noted that its design was based on the Akula class boats. Now if this were a reference to the Arihant’s level of quietening, it could mean that the boat was quieter than both China’s Shang Class SSNs as well as its Jin Class SSBN’s, if one were to go by the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence’s 2009 rankings about the degree of stealth exhibited by these boats. In any event, active noise cancellation technologies are likely to find their way into the Arihant’s successors, making them more difficult to detect.
For communicating with its emerging nuclear fleet, which already includes the INS Chakra, an Akula 2 leased from Russia, and soon the Arihant, the IN has set up a new very low frequency (VLF) transmitting station at INS Kattabomman near the southern tip of mainland India. INS Kattabomman is an advancement over an existing VLF station located in its vicinity, which was established in the 1980s with U.S. help, in terms of range and data transfer capability, among other aspects. In 2014, extreme low frequency (ELF) transmitters were added, clearly indicative of a need to communicate with deeply submerged submarines.
Launch of INS Aridhaman :::
This is one of India’s top secret military projects and hence there are absolutely no reports on the progress of the construction of this deadly nuclear submarine. All we know is that INS Aridhaman after clearing all trials will dominate the Indian Ocean by the end of 2018, if all goes as per schedule. Reportedly Aridhaman is currently undergoing outfitting at Shipbuilding Centre (SBC) in Visakhapatnam.
Conclusion
Indian won’t shy away in accepting the fact that, we are still decade away from attaining supremacy nuclear submarine design such as the likes of US Navy. But, at the same time, we are accelerating towards the goal.
Expertise gained in the construction of INS Arihant, is surely gonna be capitalised with high technological interest in the upcoming submarines of the same class.
It is pertinent to record that USS Nautilus took 16 years from 1944 when it was authorised in 1955 for sea trials and in 1960 to join the fleet, while Russia took 16 years to build its first second generation SSN-093 submarine (1990- 2006). The Arihant achievement must be judged as such, and lauded.
Reportedly, if going by the naval tradition, The Indian Navy had it’s Red Letter Day when the Captain proudly reported to the President, India’s Supreme Commander,
Source:-Arihant-class submarine – Wikipedia,Code Name “Project Varsha” –India’s Futuristic Naval Base,Life Of Solider
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