INS Arihant - reactor active, running on nuclear power now

In a major step towards completing its nuclear triad, the atomic reactor on-board the indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant was activated late Friday night and the submarine is on its own power now. The submarine will soon be launched to sea on the Eastern coast for extensive sea trials

DRDO has also readied a medium-range nuclear missile BO-5 for being deployed on the Arihant and its last developmental trial was held on January 27 off the coast of Vishakhapatnam.

INS Arihant, till now, was being tested in the harbor on shore-based, high-pressure steam. With the reactor going critical now, the submarine will eventually head for open waters for extensive "sea- acceptance trials", which will include firing of its 750-km range K-15 ballistic missiles. 

INS Arihant at launch ceremony ( Image Courtesy - pacificsentinel.blogspot.com.au ) 

The sea trials will take at least another 18 months before INS Arihant can become fully operational. It will be the first ballistic missile submarine to have been built outside the five recognized nuclear powers — the United States, France, Russia, Britain and China.

Sections of a second submarine, to be named Aridaman are already at an advanced stage of outfitting at the Ship Building Centre (SBC). Sources indicate Aridaman could be launched by next year. Sections of a third submarine are also under construction at the Larsen & Toubro's Hazira facility. The three SSBNs have been under construction under a secret navy-DRDO-Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) project called the 'Advanced Technology Vessel' (ATV) project. 

India's strategic plans call for a fleet of five nuclear powered attack submarines (SSN) and five ballistic missile submarines (SSBN).

News Courtesy - hindustantimesc.om and indiatoday.intoday.in

Video: K 15 SLBM test fired from sub-merged platform

Treat to watch - First time video of K 15, Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile, test-fired from under-water pontoon. K 15 will be integrated to INS Arihant to complete Indian nuclear triad.

Dedicated to all Indian Defence Enthusiasts !!!!!

Courtesy - One of my favourite Defence Journalist - Shiv Aroor

Video Courtesy - Shiv Aroor @ youtube

DRDO completes development of K 15 SLBM for Arihant

Moving a step closer to completing its nuclear triad, India today successfully test-fired a ballistic missile, with a strike range of around 750 Kilometres, from an underwater platform in Bay of Bengal.

"The short range K-15 ballistic missile was test-fired successfully today from an underwater pontoon and all parameters of the test firing were met," DRDO chief VK Saraswat told PTI from the undisclosed test area.

Saraswat said that the development phase of the K-15 missile, which is a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), was over and it was now ready for deployment on various platforms including the indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant which is under development.

K 15 Test Fired at undisclosed location ( Image Courtesy - Shiv Aroor @ livefist.blogspot.com ) 

K-15 is part of the family of underwater missiles being developed by Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) for the Indian strategic forces' underwater platforms.

This is the first missile in the underwater category to have been developed by India. So far, India had the capability of delivering nuclear weapons from land and aerial platforms only. India has a no-first-use policy for nuclear weapons and the development of an SLBM boosts its retaliatory strike capability, experts said.

India is also developing two more underwater missiles including K-5 and Brahmos with strike ranges of 1500 kilometres and 290 kilometres respectively. K-5 ballistic missile is being developed by DRDO's Hyderabad-based Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL).

Officials said more than 10 trials of the missile have been performed earlier. Today's was the last development trial of K-15. Only a select few nations including the US, France, Russia and China have this type of missile capability. UK uses "American Missile Trident" for its SSBNs.

News Courtesy - timesofindia.indiatimes.com with correction from Shiv Aroor

INS Arihant SSBN completes Harbour Acceptance Trials

Navy Chief Admiral D.K. Joshi's has disclosed that the nation would soon get to hear good news on Arihant submarine. It is believed that the reactor will go critical, setting the stage for sea trial sometime in the first half of 2013. 

Admiral Joshi said harbour acceptance trials for INS Arihant have been completed, sea trials are expected to begin early next year. If everything remained in place, the submarine is expected to be ready for induction by late 2013. It will be one of the most significant achievements of country's submarine building capability.

 INS Arihant first image ( Image Courtesy - pacificsentinel.blogspot.com )

The submarine will be fitted with K-15 submarine launched ballistic missile which is under development. The trials of 700 km K-15 missile have already been carried out. While Arihant's induction is being eagerly awaited, the navy has fully integrated recently acquired Akula class submarine from Russia. INS Chakra is on ten year lease.

The navy is also working on a new base near the Andhra Pradesh coast for its nuclear submarines. The project Varsha, has been going on for more than two years now. It will be one of the most prominent facilities in the eastern coast. The western coast already has a new base at Karwar in Karnataka.

Some of the new naval assets are now being deployed on the eastern coast strengthening the fleet with modern warships and submarines.

 News Courtesy - http://indiatoday.intoday.in

Progress on Indian SSBN - INS Arihant

An image, taken by GeoEye’s satellite and made available on Google Earth, shows what appears to be the conning tower (or sail) of a submarine in a gap of covers intended to conceal it deep inside the Visakhapatnam (Vizag) Naval Base on the Indian east coast. The image appears to show a gangway leading from the pier with service buildings and a large crane to the submarine hull just behind the conning tower.

INS Arihant under Initial Cover ( Image Courtesy - fas.org ) 

The Arihant was launched in 2009 from the shipyard on the other side of the harbor and moved under an initial cover. An image released by the Indian government in 2010 appears to show the submarine inside the initial cover. The new cover, made up of what appears to be 13-meter floating modules that can be assembled to fit the length of the submarine, similarly to what Russia is using at its submarine shipyard in Severodvinsk.

Image captured by GeoEye Satellite ( Image Courtesy - fas.org ) 

The movement of Arihant from the initial cover building to the module covers next to the service facilities and large crane indicates that the submarine has entered a new phase of fitting out. The initial cover building appeared empty in April 2012 when the Indian Navy show-cased its new Russia-supplied Akula-class nuclear-powered attack submarine: INS Chakra. 

It is thought that the Arihant is equipped with less than a dozen launch tubes behind the conning tower for nuclear-armed ballistic missiles. Arihant is expected to become fully operational by early 2013. It is expected that India might be building at least two more SSBNs, and one of which is being rumored to be named as INS Aridaman .

News Courtesy - fas.org

Indian SLBM is now ready for the SSBN - INS Arihant‎

The Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has announced that it has successfully developed nuclear-tipped submarine-launched ballistic missile - SLBM. Long shrouded in secrecy, unlike surface-to-surface nuclear missiles like Agni, the SLBM was a closely -guarded secret while in development and was called the 'Sagarika Project'.

A file photo of a submarine-launched ballistic missile ( Image Courtesy - intellibriefs )

In all probability, the INS Arihant will take this missile on board. So far, countries like the US, Russia, France, China and the UK have the capability to launch a submarine-based ballistic missile.

News Courtesy - ndtv.com

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Indian Navy first SSBN Arihant begins sea-trials

India's first home-built nuclear submarine was set for sea trials, military officials said yesterday, on Aug 07, 2012. The indigenous 6,000 tonne INS Arihant was unveiled in 2009 as part of a project to construct five such SSBNs of Arihant Class, which would be armed with nuclear-tipped missiles and torpedoes.

As stated by a defence source, Arihant is quite on-course, steadily progressing towards operationalisation with the in-service date expected to be somewhere at the end of  year 2012.

INS Arihant in the dock ( Image Courtesy - Bharat Rakshak Defence Forum )

Arihant is powered by an 85-megawatt nuclear reactor and can reach 44 kilometres an hour, according to defence officials. It will carry a 95-member crew.

The Indian navy inducted a Russian-leased nuclear attack submarine, SSN into service in April this year, joining China, France, the United States, Britain and Russia in the club of countries with nuclear-powered vessels.

News Courtesy - Deccan Chronicle

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Indian Navy - Third SSBN of Arihant Class - Shatrughana or Arinashak ?

INS Aridaman, India's second SSBN of Arihant Class will reportedly be ready for launch by end 2012, or the the first quarter of 2013. The boat is under outfitting now and is headed for a year-end launch.

Now the even more interesting news is that hull fabrication is on for the third SSBN of Arihant Class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. The second SSBN Aridaman is already in advanced stage of construction. There was a rumor doing rounds on the web that the third SSBN might be named as INS Shatrughana (meaning Killer of Enemy), based on mythological character of Prince Shatrughana from Ramayan.

However, defence sources dismissed the rumor by pointing to Indian Navy's tradition, where name of all the ships of the same class begin with the same alphabet. For ex - S for Sindhughosh Class of Submarines. V for Aircraft Carriers.

Image Courtesy - Bharat Rakshak Defence Forum.

So, it can be Arinashak but definitely not Shatrughana, guess we all would need to wait for the official confirmation on the name of the third SSBN of Arihant Class.

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Second Indian SSBN to be launched in late 2012

Construction of a second Arihant-class nuclear submarine, to be named INS Aridaman, is moving fast at the Shipbuilding Centre (SBC) in Visakhapatnam. It is slated for launch by 2012 year-end or in the first quarter of 2013.

The first submarine of the class, INS Arihant, launched in July 2009, has just completed its harbour acceptance trials and is set to undergo the crucial sea acceptance trials in February. This will be followed by weapon trials before the submarine is formally inducted into the Navy, hopefully in 2013, when the country will attain the much-desired nuclear triad. Displacing about 6,000 tonnes, the 112 metre-long Arihant-class of SSBNs are powered by indigenously-built 80-MW nuclear power plants. Each submarine is said to store 12 K-15 missiles besides torpedoes and torpedo-launched cruise missiles.

Image Courtesy - Bharat Rakshak Defence Forum