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 Navy - Comparison of Nuclear Submarine Fleet

Till April 2012, there was an exclusive group of world powers who had nuclear submarines in their fleet. India Navy gatecrashed into this group, by inducting INS Chakra in its fleet, an Akula Class SSN leased from Russia for ten years.

I have compiled a metrics of global powers and their nuclear submarine fleet, to show where Indian Navy is at present and how it would fare in a decade from now. I have intentionally excluded United States and Russian Federation as both of them are way ahead from rest of the navies, in terms of numerical strength of their nuclear submarine fleets.

		SSN		SSBN
China		09		05
France		06		04
UK		06		04
India		01		00

Chinese Navy -

China has 9 SSNs in its fleet  - 5 Han Class and 4 Shang Class. It has got 5 SSBNs - 1 Xia Class and 4 Jin Class.

French Navy -

France has 6 SSNs in its fleet from Rubis Class. It has got 4 SSBNs  from Triomphant Class.

Royal Navy (UK) -

UK has 6 SSNs in its fleet - 5 Trafalgar Class and 1 Astute Class. It has got 4 SSBNs  from Vanguard Class.

Indian Navy -

India has 1 SSN in its fleet - INS Chakra from Akula Class. It has got no active SSBNs  as of now.

However, INS Arihant SSBN is under sea trials and is expected to be commissioned by 2013. Three more hulls of Arihant Class are in different stages of construction. So, it is expected that by 2020, India Navy should have a fleet of 4 SSBNs. 

However, things are not that clear on SSN front. It is not known whether Indian Navy has any active SSN develop program, defence sources are tight-lipped on that, and there has been no official confirmation or denial about it. In that case, Indian Navy would need to exercise the option of leasing second Akula Class submarine from Russia. It would become must by 2015-2016, when Indian Navy will have two Carrier Battle Groups in its arsenal, and each would need to have a potent sub-surface escort, in form of a nuclear-powered attack submarine. An ideal scenario would ask for at least 4 SSNs to escort two Carrier Battle Groups.

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