Indian nuclear submarines

[Khagesh]

http://idrw.org/wont-join-navy-again-cannot-get-justice-there-says-former-ins-arihant-officer/

After his career was sabotaged by a vice admiral to promote his own son-in-law forcing him to quit the service, nuclear submarine reactor specialist Commander SS Luthra says he would not join the Navy again as he does not hope to get justice there. He chose to quit the white uniform of the Navy this April and is working for a private sector firm and shuffles between Kochi and Pune for his job requirement. “I would not join the Navy again even if I am asked to because I cannot get justice there. The officer involved in the case still has deep clout there and I would not want to go through the humiliation once again,” Luthra told Mail Today in an interview from Kochi. The tribunal while slapping a fine of Rs 5 lakh on the vice admiral has directed the navy to consider Luthra afresh for promotion to the rank of a captain and give him all his due pension and other benefits. One of the rare nuclear reactor trained officers in Russia, Luthra rues the fact that he would not be able to use his knowledge about submarine reactors in future again. “Because of these factors, all my experience and knowledge would go waste. If we take rough estimates, the navy and the country had invested around US$ 8 lakh (Rs 5.2 crore) on my training alone but that would not be of any use now,” he said. He misses what he used to do in the Navy but says, “Since my area of specialisation is very niche, I cannot do anything related to it in civilian sector. That is something which I regret as I cannot work in the field of nuclear reactors – something for which the country had invested in me and that is the biggest loss,” he said. On the tribunal judgment indicting vice admiral PK Chatterjee for favouring his son-in-law commander AV Agashe by writing him and many of his colleagues off in service records, Luthra said the plan seemed that he was trying to protect his son-in-law to ensure that he rises to become at least a vice admiral. “Three batches before us and three batches after us have been written off and he is the only one to have been elevated to ensure that he remains the only one to be chosen from till the rank of vice admiral,” Luthra alleged. Luthra’s lawyer Ankur Chhibber expressed hope that the judgment delivered by the tribunal would deter officers from indulging in favouritism and respect and dignity of officers is maintained in the service. He said other officers also who had been trained along with him on handling nuclear submarine reactors would probably be leaving the service in coming years slowly and suggested that this would also impact the country’s capability to handle any mishap involving nuclear submarine reactors. Considered to be an ace in all the fields that he was trained in, Luthra was also the chief instructor of Navy school where officers are trained to handle nuclear reactors of the force. Commander SS Luthra was one of the 11 specialist officers trained in Russia for handling nuclear submarine reactors of INS Arihant and INS Chakra – the two strategic submarines in the Navy.

idrw.org .Read more at India No 1 Defence News Website http://idrw.org/wont-join-navy-again-cannot-get-justice-there-says-former-ins-arihant-officer/ .

 

[Prashant12]

Exclusive: ‘Aridaman’, India’s second nuclear-armed submarine, is ready for launch

File photo of INS Arihant at its launch ceremony in 2009 - Courtesy Ministry of Defence

India’s second nuclear-armed submarine is now ready for launch, a critical step towards a planned quick induction into the Indian Navy to strengthen strategic deterrence. The ‘Aridaman’, which has been under construction at the secretive Ship Building Centre in Visakhapatnam, could be launched as early as in the next six to eight weeks.

Sources have told ThePrint that the submarine – larger, more powerful and better equipped than India’s first nuclear sub INS Arihant – has undergone all work required at the dry dock and will shortly be launched into water for further outfitting.

The launch ceremony is a critical milestone in naval shipbuilding, signifying that all major work including integration of heavy machinery and equipment is complete. The ceremony would also require political clearance. The 2009 launch of INS Arihant was a major media event by the UPA government.

The status and progress on Aridaman has been a tightly guarded secret, with no Indian official authorised to talk about the project. The nuclear submarine program is directly monitored by the National Security Advisor (NSA).

After the launch, which is basically a flooding of the dry dock followed by a gentle slipping of the submarine into the sea, the Aridaman will be moved to ‘Site Bravo’, a covered test area for further work. The launch is technically possible any time now but it will be a while – a year at the earliest – for the boat to be ready for sea trials.

BIG PROGRESS

Although INS Arihant is the first Indian nuclear armed boat, the long developmental period, testing and technological issues it faced has meant that it is more of a technology demonstrator. The Aridaman is set to be the first credible underwater nuclear weapon delivery platform, with shipbuilders and designers learning from the first construction.

Not only is the boat larger and equipped to carry more of the K-15 submarine launched missiles, it will also have a more powerful reactor than the 83 MW one on board the Arihant. More importantly, Indian shipbuilders have drastically cut down construction time on the boat.

Work on the Aridaman started in earnest after the Arihant was launched in 2009. While the Arihant took 11 years to reach the launch stage, Aridaman has got there within eight. The Indian Navy is hopeful that the time to induction will also be cut. Faced with technological challenges, it took the Arihant seven years to go from launch to induction – a quiet commissioning was done last year – but the Navy is believed to be looking at an ambitious two-year target for the Aridaman.

THE NEXT STEPS

After being moved under the power of harbour tugs to Site Bravo, the Aridaman will undergo several tests over the next year, including the crucial activation of the nuclear reactor. All major components that include the all-important missile launchers and torpedo tubes are already integrated and the submarine would be tested using external power.

After the systems pass all safety tests using external power, the nuclear reactor of the submarine – developed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) – will be activated. After the nuclear reactor stabilises, the boat will again undergo safety checks for all systems before being moved to the stage of harbour trials.

Sea trials will subsequently commence to take the submarine through the rigours of combat duty. This will include submerged tests, high speed cruises and firing from torpedo and missile tubes. Indian Navy crews – who are also operating the INS Chakra nuclear attack submarine leased from Russia – will be transferred to carry out tests and the induction process for Aridaman.

Besides the plans for nuclear armed submarines, India has also cleared a project to construct a new line of nuclear-powered but conventionally-armed submarines (SSNs). The mammoth plan, expected to cost over $12 billion, is for six modern vessels to be made in India. First official comments on the plan came in 2015 with a senior Navy officer revealing that the design work had started on the project and the aim is to come out with a new class of submarines within 15 years.

http://theprint.in/2017/08/24/exclusive-aridaman-indias-second-nuclear-armed-submarine-ready-launch/

 

[lcafanboy]

It was already on trials and it should be ready for formal induction and PATROL (or maybe was already Patrolling).

What is surprising is timing of announcement with India locking horns with China at Doklam, it is also a subtle way to remind China we have assets which can be used if matter is escalated and bring Lizard to table for negotiation and resolving Doklam and other border issues permanently.

Indian Navy is our true Savior with immaculate planning and Indian Army too to some extent with IAF being a BIGDisappointment (they had set their capabilities vis a vis Pakistan while the real enemy was always China).

 

[lcafanboy]

Source Based news (cross posting from IDF @PARIKRAMA)

Aridhaman Launched about X months back.. (won't reveal exact date..)

125 MW Reactor with longer life and improved design

8 V Silos

Noise level further improved then First boat due to improved material and design maturity..

K5 ejection test completed.. next set of tests will be done as per schedule..

Payload very different then before.. capable of hitting multiple targets at a distance of 200+ kms from the original target as done by unitary warhead..

The next 2 subs will get out soon as well...

Good news on SSN reactor will come out soon.. that reactor will be used for heaviest SSBN (16 silos housing only ICBM of longest range) and for the SSNs

 

[porky_kicker]

ESM systems for submarines

 

[porky_kicker]

C303 anti torpedo decoy launching system , fully indigenized some years ago.

u can see it at the sides of Arihant SSBN

 

[porky_kicker]

Submarine Sonar USHUS operator console

 

[Prashant12]

EXCLUSIVE: What’s New In India’s Nuclear Submarine Program?

https://www.livefistdefence.com/2017/09/exclusive-whats-up-in-indias-nuclear-submarine-program.html

 

[Khagesh]

I never gave much serious thought to what livefist says. Except when he is advertising the foreign stuff, since that gives an idea about what would be billed to India next.

But the pic up there of the beeeg S-5 made me realize something I had not given much thought to. At times pictures do say a lot more than a lot of words.

Hey Bhagwan let things really turn out that way.

 

[WolfPack86]

India's future nuclear Sub surface fleet's glimpses released.

According to a Livefist Article, our Sub surface (nuke) fleet has been taking shape for a long time and results are finally being seen.

It seems, according to the article, INS Arihant is a stand alone boat, as it was envisioned as a technology demonstrator and the following production class will follow INS Aridaman.

The Aridaman class is slightly bigger than original Arihant class with 8 launch tubes.The following boat S4 and S4* will follow the same physical features. But S4* may have some additional features too,as it will be a junction between S4 and S5 class

The S5 which is a mystery till now, is speculated to displace around 12000 tonnes

It seems second Akula-II class is almost certain to join the navy. INS Chakra may have to return for refueling. But if It's tenure is extended, then we may have two such.

And so will 6 indigenously built SSN. Displacement possibly 6000 tonnes.

So overall, we may have 13 nuclear submarines in the near future.

Pic Credits - Livefist
https://www.facebook.com/pg/TeamINDRA/photos/?ref=page_internal

 

[airtel]

India's future nuclear Sub surface fleet's glimpses released.

According to a Livefist Article, our Sub surface (nuke) fleet has been taking shape for a long time and results are finally being seen.

It seems, according to the article, INS Arihant is a stand alone boat, as it was envisioned as a technology demonstrator and the following production class will follow INS Aridaman.

The Aridaman class is slightly bigger than original Arihant class with 8 launch tubes.The following boat S4 and S4* will follow the same physical features. But S4* may have some additional features too,as it will be a junction between S4 and S5 class

The S5 which is a mystery till now, is speculated to displace around 12000 tonnes

It seems second Akula-II class is almost certain to join the navy. INS Chakra may have to return for refueling. But if It's tenure is extended, then we may have two such.

And so will 6 indigenously built SSN. Displacement possibly 6000 tonnes.

So overall, we may have 13 nuclear submarines in the near future.

Pic Credits - Livefist
https://www.facebook.com/pg/TeamINDRA/photos/?ref=page_internal

Ins airhant (s2) is a 6000 ton SSN ...
According to this photo S3 and s4 are bigger than Ins arihant.... around 9000 tons.

 

[Superdefender]

Not 13 nuclear submarines, it will be 15.
S2-1
S3-1
S4-1
S4*-1
S5-3
AKULA-2
SSN-6
TOTAL = 15

 

[Superdefender]

Ins airhant (s2) is a 6000 ton SSN ...
According to this photo S3 and s4 are bigger than Ins arihant.... around 9000 tons.

S3, S4 and S4* are of same size and displacement above 8,000 tons. They have double ammunition capability than Arihant. S5 SSBNs can carry even double ammunition compared to S3/S4/S4*.
S3/S4/S4* = 8 K-4 SLBMs
S5 = 12 K-5 SLBMs

 

[Khagesh]

K-15 Sagarika weigh around 6-7 tons & Arihant can carry 3*4 of these for a total of 84 tons

K-4 is expected to weigh around 17 tons & Arihant can carry 1*4 of these for a total of 68 tons

As a percentage of 6000 ton displacement this warload implies 1.3% to 1.4% of the total displacement.

Now if the percentages are increased to say 2.26% to 2.8% (twice the number of similar silos for twice the count of same SLBMs) then it will cause some difficulties for the submarine but not debilitate it much.

At the same time, we all know that Arihant is only a tech demo. But S-3 is not a tech demo. S-3 is a complete beast so you can presume that the Indian Navy has asked for some refinements after their long testing phase of the Arihant.

Thus my guess is that S-3 and S-4 and S-5 would be around 6500-7000 tons with may be a 100 Mwt reactor with about 30% efficiency for a 30 Mwe of available power.

It is the follow on to the S-5 which is expected to house K-5 that I believe will be well in excess of 8000 tons on the lower side. And since that class is not even on the drawing board yet so it may even get bigger in size to say 10000 tons - 12000 tons.


Edits - made some changes because S-3, S-4 and S-5 are going to be similar. The bigger one is the follow on class. I got my count wrong earlier.

 

[captscooby81]

S5 will be more of a smaller variant of the Borey class submarine as we are taking more know how from the Russians in the design of our ATV class

the SSN project if the french helps then it will be the barracuda class or else we will design our own Yasen class type SSN with the Russian help ..

I think it will be 6-8 SSN totally and 6 SSBN max we will operate by 2040 and beyond ...provided the world don t see action of SSBNs in the 2020-2025 time frame ...

 

[Khagesh]

Borei is the best the Russian have. Nobody hands over their best to others.

But does it matter if the S-5 is or is not a smaller Borei. What if the job adequately can be done by something lesser and what if there are local efforts possible. Taking a broader help does allow you to focus your efforts.

What is more pertinent is the answer to the questions like:
If this wasn't the situation forever?
If today there are adequate local efforts?
If not then why not?

 

[lcafanboy]

India's 2nd Made-in-India Nuclear Submarine to be launched within a month
Tuesday, September 12, 2017 By: ET Source Link: CLICK HERE





India's second indigenous nuclear submarine is likely to be launched in less than a month's time, towards the end of September or the beginning of October, government sources said.

Launching of a boat refers to the process of transferring the vessel to the water from a dry dock. Once launched, the boat will undergo extensive sea trials before it is inducted in the Indian Navy some time in 2019.

The launch is likely to be done by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in keeping with the tradition that a boat is launched by a woman. The first indigenous nuclear submarine, INS Arihant, was launched in 2009 by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's wife, Gursharan Kaur.

INS Arihant was quietly inducted in the Indian Navy in August 2016. It was the first nuclear attack submarine built by a country other than one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

Being built under the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project at the Ship Building Centre in Visakhapatnam, the second boat, Aridhaman, will have double the number of missile hatches than its predecessor. It will also be powered by a more powerful reactor than INS Arihant's 83 MW pressurised light-water reactor.

Aridhaman will have a seven-blade propeller powered by a pressurised water reactor and can achieve speed upto 12-15 knots on surface and 24 knots under water.

It has eight vertical launch tubes and can carry up to 24 indigenously-developed K-15 (Sagarika) missiles or eight K-4 missiles. The K-15 has a range of 750 km while the K-4 has a range of 3,500 km.

INS Arihant has four vertical launch tubes and can carry 12 K-15 missiles or four K-4 missiles.

The K-4 missile was developed as the Agni-III missile could not be deployed on INS Arihant due to space constraints.
http://www.defencenews.in/article/I...ubmarine-to-be-launched-within-a-month-313767

 

[Kalki_2018]

I doubt IN will announce the exact date. Most likely its already prowling the seas. I am beginning to doubt the speed specifications also. They are exactly same as Arihant despite being bigger.

 

[singh100ful]

Ins airhant (s2) is a 6000 ton SSN ...
According to this photo S3 and s4 are bigger than Ins arihant.... around 9000 tons.

I heard once that the S2,S3,S4 are all of same size and will carry 8 K-15 or 4 K-4 SLBM's.
S5 onwards will be different class carrying 12 K-4 SLBM's and the follow on SLBM's.

 

[Prashant12]

INS Aridhaman to be out soon.

CHENNAI: Later this month, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman will launch India’s second indigenous nuclear submarine, INS Aridhaman. Following its launch, the new vessel will undergo sea trials and will be inducted into service no later than 2019.

A nuclear sub is something only a few countries can boast of. In fact, the induction of INS Arihant into service in 2016 made India the only country apart from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to operate a homemade nuclear U-boat.

INS Aridhaman will carry twice as many missiles as INS Arihant besides travelling faster under water. It is fitted with eight launch tubes unlike its elder sister Arihant, which has only four. Further, experts say the new sub will carry K-15 and (the newer) K-4 ballistic missiles as does INS Arihant. K-4 is an intermediate range ballistic missile that can hit targets as far as 3500 km.

Aridhaman’s launch comes at a time of growing tensions in the Indian Ocean region. Analysts say there has been a spike in the Chinese naval presence in the Indian Ocean. Just days after India objected to China’s construction of a road on the Doklam plateau, India Today reported that a Chinese submarine surfaced in the Indian Ocean waters. Although the timing is interesting, it would be a mistake to ignore the larger picture. For quite some time now, China has been ratcheting up its presence in the region. Abhijit Singh, a former naval officer who heads the Maritime Policy Initiative at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation, said, “Since January this year, China has been able to establish a strong military and economic presence in the Indian Ocean region, with many South Asian states bending over backwards to accommodate Beijing’s regional initiatives.”

Strategic experts warn that China would use its superior naval might to choke India in the Indian Ocean in the event of a conflict. China’s growing trade with countries in Africa and West Asia means that maintaining access to the Indian Ocean is a priority for Beijing. However, there is always a possibility that India and the US, which maintains a significant presence in the Indian Ocean, may see this Chinese naval activity as a threat to their own interests.

Further, the launch of INS Aridhaman comes just months after China announced the start of the sea trials of its first domestically built aircraft carrier. Locked in competition, New Delhi sees no option but to boost its own capability. One way of doing so is by building its own nuclear sub.

Nuclear vs conventional submarines

Put simply, nuclear submarines are those that are powered by onboard nuclear reactors. Conventional submarines generate energy by burning diesel, which requires air. The energy is then stored in a battery, which powers the submarine. However, once power runs out, the vessel has to surface again. Since there is no need for air, nuke submarines can stay underwater for months. Also, they can cruise faster than conventional subs without their battery running out.

It is clear that a war between India and China is not likely to be limited to their disputed border. China would draw India into a confrontation in the Indian Ocean. As such, it is imperative for India to boost its Sea Control and Area Denial capability. Nuclear submarines have a vital role to play here. They help the navy retain full command of the sea. Their stealth features enable them to enter waters undetected and carry out surveillance and intelligence gathering activities. For instance, a nuclear submarine can lurk underwater and keep an eye on activities in the waters near the Chinese port of Hambantota in Sri Lanka. They can also be used to attack enemy ships that stray into India’s territorial waters.

It’s not easy to spot a submarine underwater

Nuclear submarines are a useful tool because they can lurk deep under the sea undetected for months. It is not easy to locate these giant monsters once they plunge deep underwater. Why? Subs ply at the deep end of the ocean. They can lurk quietly for hours making it impossible for passive sonar to detect them. Even if active sonar waves are used, the fact remains that there are rock formations beneath the surface of the ocean. Thus, the sound waves reflected back to the surface may not give an accurate picture of what’s down there. More importantly variations in water temperature and pressure at different levels of the ocean damage the quality of sonar data. Further, surface ships make a lot of noise as they cruise through the waters. This alerts the crew of a submarine who can then take evasive measures before the sound waves are dropped.

Being hard to detect makes nuclear submarines ideal for carrying nuclear weapons. Strategic experts call this the “sea-basing of nuclear weapons”. This enables a country to retain a second-strike capability in case a first-nuclear strike by the enemy destroys all its land based nukes. “By virtue of its stealth and attendant survivability of second-strike capability, a nuclear submarine is particularly suited for nuclear deterrence,” says India’s Maritime Doctrine, a 2009 report by the Ministry of Defence.

http://www.newindianexpress.com/nat...to-know-about-nuclear-submarines-1657202.html