In a year, India will have nuclear triad: Navy chief

[RAM]

NEW DELHI: Only three countries, US, Russia and China, can be said to have fully-operational nuclear weapon triads -- the capability to fire nuclear-tipped missiles from land, air and sea. India will gatecrash into this highly-exclusive club by 2012.

Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma, not given to making dramatic statements, said the triad will be complete once its crucial underwater leg, the country's first indigenous nuclear submarine aptly named INS Arihant or the "destroyer of enemies", is commissioned towards late-2011 or early-2012.

The land and air legs are already in place with the Agni family of road and rail-mobile ballistic missiles as well as fighter jets like Mirage-2000s and Sukhoi-30MKIs jury-rigged to deliver nuclear weapons.

"When INS Arihant goes to sea, it will be on a deterrent patrol (read armed with nucelar-tipped missiles). The triad will then be in place... the aim is to make it as effective as possible," Admiral Verma said on Thursday, in the run-up to Navy Day on December 4.

This comes barely a day after Wikileaks revealed that American and European diplomats were greatly alarmed about Pakistan's feverish production of nuclear weapons. Estimates show Pakistan already has around 70 to 90 warheads, higher than India's 60 to 80. China, of course, is way ahead with around 240 warheads.

While Pakistan is nowhere near getting a nuclear submarine, China has 10 of them in its 62-submarine fleet, with three of them being SSBNs (armed with long-range strategic missiles). India, in contrast, has just 15 conventional and ageing diesel-electric submarines.

Consequently, INS Arihant is crucial to India's nuclear deterrence doctrine, which revolves around a clear "no-first use" policy. A robust and survivable second-strike capability is hugely dependent on having nuclear-powered submarines, armed with SLBMs (submarine-launched ballistic missiles), which can operate silently underwater for several months at a time.

Admiral Verma said INS Arihant, which was "launched" at Vizag in July 2009, would have potent SLBM capabilities to complete the triad. With INS Arihant's miniature 83 mw pressurised light-water reactor slated to go "critical" within a month or two for sea-acceptance trials, Navy also seems quite confident about ongoing undersea tests of the 700-km K-15 and 3,500-km K-4 SLBMs.

The 6,000-tonne INS Arihant, which has four silos on its hump to carry 12 K-15s or four extended range K-4s, is to be followed by another two nuclear submarines under the secretive Rs 30,000 crore Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project.

Navy, on its part, wants to have three SSBNs and six SSNs (nuclear-powered attack submarines) in the years ahead. The force will also finally induct the K-152 Nerpa submarine, on a 10-year lease from Russia, towards April-May 2011 after several delays.

While the 12,000-tonne Nerpa will not come armed with long-range missiles due to international treaties, it will help train Indian sailors in the complex art of operating nuclear submarines. It will also be a lethal hunter of enemy submarines and warships, armed with torpedoes and 300-km Klub-S cruise missiles.


Read more: In a year, India will have nuclear triad: Navy chief - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...y-chief/articleshow/7030573.cms#ixzz16zt0U3bu​

 

[RAM]

In a year, India will have nuclear triad: Navy chief

India will send its first ballistic missile submarine on patrol armed with nuclear weapons within a year, Navy chief Adm Nirmal Verma acknowledged on Thursday. The nuclear-powered submarine, the INS Arihant, will conduct deterrent patrols after it enters service in 2011-12. Strategic deterrencewill be based on the K-15 submarine-launched ballistic missiles, capable of delivering nuclear warheads up to 700 km.







Verma said the deterrent force will complete India's nuclear triad (ability to launch strategic weapons from land, air and sea). "It is only a triad when you have the capability to launch a strategic weapon from the platform. I'm saying the triad will be there when it (Arihant) is commissioned," Verma said.To be armed with 12 ballistic missiles, Arihant will provi-de India enduring nuclear strike and counter-strike capabilities.
China has two ballistic missile submarines — the old Xia and latest Jin class — but the warships are not known to have taken up deterrent patrols yet


http://www.hindustantimes.com/First-N-armed-sub-in-a-year-Navy-chief/H1-Article1-633721.aspx.



​

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/In-a-year-India-will-have-nuclear-triad-Navy-chief/articleshow/7030573.cms#ixzz16ztVzijt​

 

[RAM]

INS Arihant' to sail on deterrent patrol after commissioning

India's first ballistic missile submarine the INS Arihant will go on "deterrent patrol" or sail with a full complement of nuclear-tipped missiles when she is commissioned in 2012. "The nuclear triad will be there when it is commissioned," navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma said at a press conference in New Delhi.

This is the first time a service chief has commented on the deployment of a nuclear weapon platform. Launched last year, the Arihant is the first of a series of five indigenously constructed ballistic missile submarines (SSBN). The Indian SSBN is meant to form the third and most survivable leg of a troika of land, air and sea-based platforms enunciated by the Indian nuclear doctrine. The submarines are being constructed at the high security Naval Dockyard Visakhapatnam. "We expect to have it going in two years, end 2011 or 2012," Admiral Verma said. "We are going with the float as far as things go," he said in an attempt to answer speculation that technical glitches with the submarine would delay its commissioning.
Deterrent patrol means a long and lonely vigil where the submarine sails submerged and undetectable for weeks on end with its load of nuclear weapons. It is meant to 'deter' an adversary from launching a first strike on the nation. Only four nations-the US, Russia, France and UK have SSBNs sailing on deterrent patrols. China has two SSBNs and is building three more but its submarines have never sailed on deterrent patrols.
Admiral Verma's predecessor was the first to confirm the existence of the highly classified Advanced Technology vessel (ATV) project two years back. Security analysts however believe that the navy chief's estimates of induction could be optimistic. The Arihant is yet to begin her sea trials or even fire up her nuclear reactor. Missile tests will follow after the submarine completes her sea trials which could take up to a year. Two nuclear-tipped missiles are being developed for the Arihant class. A 700-km submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) called the K-15 or the B-05 has been tested eight times and is in serial production. A 3500 km SLBM, the K-4 has been tested once and will be fielded by around 2017. A second test of the K-4 is expected in the next two months.

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/S...-on-deterrent-patrol-after-commissioning.html

 

[The Messiah]

This news pleases me!

But what will be range of nuclear missile ?

 

[Yusuf]

Two things that interest me in the report in ToI is one that the Navy Chief said about deterrent patrol. That means live nukes tipped on missiles on Indian nuke subs. This would represent a quantum jump in doctrine. I mean the Chinese have had nuke subs for years and they still dont go on patrol with live nuke tipped missiles.

So India has to set up its proper command and communication and also training for all the sailors to man the subs. Its going to be a mighty task. I guess the Nerpa is for the purpose of training in this regard only. Good going for India.

 

[sayareakd]

This news pleases me!

But what will be range of nuclear missile ?

K-11 official about 700-1000 (unofficial about 1000-1500 km)
K4 same as Agni missile

 

[Yusuf]

Forgot to add the second point in my earlier post #5. The talk about a K4 missile. Is it really at an advanced stage of development? That would be a huge boost for our nuke capability which means the arihant can target china as well with its long range SLBM. This news conference by the Navy Chief has broken some great news for Indian defence.

 

[Iamanidiot]

i think its a klub missile yusuf

 

[Yusuf]

No JP its not the klub. The klub have a range of 300kms. We are talking about 3500+ range. That is a huge jump for Indian deterrence. some interesting times ahead in indian missile sector.

 

[pmaitra]

No JP its not the klub. The klub have a range of 300kms. We are talking about 3500+ range. That is a huge jump for Indian deterrence. some interesting times ahead in indian missile sector.

I wonder if 3500+ missile can be at all fitted in the Arihant. A reasonable estimate would be 700 km to 1900 km. There was a report that stated that the submarine launched missile (Sagarika?) is related to the Shourya.

"Shourya missile cannot be easily detected"

T.S. Subramanian
It has high manoeuvrability, says DRDO Director-General
Indigenous navigation system worked well

"Shourya has given India a second strike capability"

CHENNAI: The "Shourya" missile that was test-fired successfully on Wednesday "flew at five times the speed of sound, that is Mach 5, for 300 km" of its 600-km range, according to M. Natarajan, Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister. Its velocity gradually tapered off during the remaining 300 km of its flight and then it plunged vertically over the targeted site in the Bay of Bengal.

What was outstanding about the Shourya's success was the performance of its indigenous navigation system with the help of a ring-laser gyroscope, Mr. Natarajan said on Thursday. He called it "a sophisticated navigation and guidance system produced by the Research Centre, Imarat" (RCI) in Hyderabad.

"We flew our own navigation system in this missile. It worked very well. This is an important step forward for the country in the navigation of missiles, aircraft and spacecraft," he said. No country would provide India this navigation system.

After the Shourya was fired from its canister, it rose to a height of 50 km and then flew horizontally to reach its targeted site. As it reached its maximum speed, it led to the missile heating up to 700 degrees Celsius. To cool the missile, it was rolled.

"We did a rolling manoeuvre which gives uniform heat to the missile," said Mr. Natarajan, who is also Director-General, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

He watched the test-firing of the new missile from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur-on-sea, Balasore, Orissa. Shourya is a product of the DRDO. The missile's Programme Director was A.K. Chakrabarti.

While about 2,000 degrees Celsius was generated when Agni series of missiles re-entered the atmosphere, only several hundred degrees Celsius was generated during Shourya's re-entry.

The missile had high manoeuvrability. So it could not be easily detected by the enemy, Mr. Natarajan said. Shourya is about 10 metres long. It can carry warheads weighing more than 500 kg.

W. Selvamurthy, Chief Controller (R&D), DRDO, said the Shourya missile provided the country with "a second strike capability" because it was a variant of the under-water launched K-15 missile (Sagarika). "We can keep the missile in a secured position [silo] to carry either conventional or nuclear warheads," Dr. Selvamurthy said.

DRDO sources said that although the Shourya needed a silo with a maximum depth of 50 metres to lift off, it could be launched from 30-metre deep silos. It had a booster which fired underground and another which fired in the air.

Source: http://www.hinduonnet.com/2008/11/14/stories/2008111462151500.htm

 

[Rahul Singh]

Forgot to add the second point in my earlier post #5. The talk about a K4 missile. Is it really at an advanced stage of development?

No, K-4 is not at advance stage as it is not expected to get inducted before 2017 and had its first underwater launch test only early this year. But definitely it at somewhere just behind mid way. K-4 is all new missile considering ground breaking light weight, low drag high strength airframe and light weight propulsion. But at the same time K-4 uses many tested and validated technologies like Guidance and Control, mission computers, INS, telemetry from Agni-3 and also uses a refined version of a comprehensive technical package which enable underwater ejection, launch, rocket firing and realignment from K-15 Sagarika project.

 

[Rahul Singh]

I wonder if 3500+ missile can be at all fitted in the Arihant. A reasonable estimate would be 700 km to 1900 km. There was a report that stated that the submarine launched missile (Sagarika?) is related to the Shourya.

Why not, as long as overall height of missile silo i.e combined height of submarine (just behind island) and hump is more than 10 meters which is length of K-4? However relatively lower displacement by INS Arihant and higher weight of K-4 will permit only four K-4 abroad INS Arihant.

 

[mattster]

This statement is inaccurate - the French and British also have long had nuclear weapons and nuclear submarines carrying SLBMs.

They could easily also use their aircraft for delivery.

 

[Yusuf]

This statement is inaccurate - the French and British also have long had nuclear weapons and nuclear submarines carrying SLBMs.

They could easily also use their aircraft for delivery.

What they probably meant was operational triad and not one that could be used or the reporter is just over zealous in projecting india in a smaller club than it actually is.

 

[Rahul92]

I am hoping for a nuclear missile with mixture of characteristics of bhramos & agni 5

 

[pmaitra]

Why not, as long as overall height of missile silo i.e combined height of submarine (just behind island) and hump is more than 10 meters which is length of K-4? However relatively lower displacement by INS Arihant and higher weight of K-4 will permit only four K-4 abroad INS Arihant.

Did you mean behind the sail? Yes, it could be, especially if there is a hump, which, from the very few pictures I have seen, is not as pronounced as the Soviet Delta depicted below:

 

[LETHALFORCE]

when we have a MIRV SLBM then our program will have matured.

 

[Rahul Singh]

Did you mean behind the sail? Yes, it could be, especially if there is a hump, which, from the very few pictures I have seen, is not as pronounced as the Soviet Delta depicted below:

Yes exactly, i used word island because one time i heard same on NatGeo. As you must have seen today all most all SSBNs features hump which i think is conformal attachment, but its a guess.