INS Arihant returned yesterday from 20-day deterrent patrol
A deterrent patrol is one where an SSBN with a full complement of nuclear-tipped missiles sails towards its intended area of deployment within range of an adversary's targets.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today announced that India's first indigenously built ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) INS Arihant had completed its first deterrent patrol.
A deterrent patrol is one where an SSBN with a full complement of nuclear-tipped missiles sails towards its intended area of deployment within range of an adversary's targets. In case of an attack by a nuclear-armed adversary, the SSBN can be ordered to launch its weapons after receiving a coded signal from India's nuclear command post.
This is why Prime Minister Modi's statement assumes significance. India now not only has the capability to send out a nuclear armed submarine armed with SLBMs, the third leg of the triad of land, air and sea-based capabilities, it has perfected the entire command chain - the ability of the Nuclear Command Authority headed by the PM to communicate with the submarine through an Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) communication system. India operates a sophisticated ELF facility at the INS Kattaboman facility in Tamil Nadu. Russia and the US are the only other countries with ELF capability.
"In an era such as this, a credible nuclear deterrence is the need of the hour. The success of INS Arihant gives a fitting response to those who indulge in nuclear blackmail."
- Prime Minister Modi
The operationalistion of the triad is the most significant announcement about India's nuclear weapons capability since the May 1998 nuclear weapons tests.
Deterrent patrols, as the term indicates, are exactly that. They are meant to deter a potential adversary from launching a first strike by holding out what is called the threat of assured destruction. Once a submarine sails out into the ocean and sails submerged, they are extremely difficult to detect and track which makes it the most survivable platform of the triad.
India Today has learned that the Arihant returned yesterday from a patrol lasting over 20 days. The patrol area of the Arihant of course remains a closely-guarded secret.
The 6000-tonne Arihant that was inducted into service in August 2016 is presently armed with 12 B-05 or K-15 SLBMs (submarine launched ballistic missiles) that have a range of only 750 kilometres. It can also carry four K-4 SLBMs which has a range of 3,500 kilometres but this missile yet to clear tests.
Ship Building Centre in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Sailing an SSBN out on deterrent patrol requires a very high level of confidence in the submarine's technical capabilities and crew skills. Today's milestone makes India only the sixth country of the world to conduct a nuclear-submarine-based deterrent patrol. All five permanent members of the UN Security Council deploy their SSBNs on deterrent patrols. China was the last entrant into this club and is thought to have deployed its Jin class SSBNs on a deterrent patrol as recently as 2015. Both Israel and North Korea operate conventional submarines capable of being fitted with nuclear-tipped missiles but it is unclear if they have ever conducted patrols.
The Prime Minister today received the 100-man crew of the INS Arihant at his 7 Lok Kalyan Marg residence. Pictures on the PM's twitter handle showed the submarine's commanding officer Captain Mukul Surange presenting a ship's cap and a model of the Arihant to the PM.
The Arihant, which commenced construction in 1998 was launched in 2009. The deterrent patrol illustrates its rapid return to active duty after she was laid up after a flooding accident in 2017.
A second SSBN, the Arighat was launched at the Ship Building Centre (SBC) in Visakhapatnam on November 19, 2017 by defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The Arighat is on harbour trials and is expected to join the navy in a few years. Two more submarines, the S-4 and the S-4* are also being assembled and are likely to be launched by 2020 and 2022. The last two submarines are over 1000 tonnes heavier than the Arihant and the Arighat and can carry eight K-4 missiles.
While aircraft, missile trains and ground-based launchers can be tracked, nuclear submarines are virtually undetectable. This is what makes them the most precious asset of the nuclear triad.
Submarines thus become an important component of India's 'no first use' policy for nuclear weapons because they act as guarantors of 'assured retaliation' or a second-strike, preventing any surprise first-strike by a nuclear-armed adversary.
"As a responsible nation, India has put in place a robust nuclear command and control structure, effective safety assurance architecture and strict political control, under its Nuclear Command Authority."
- A statement from the PMO
"It remains committed to the doctrine of Credible Minimum Deterrence and No First Use, as enshrined in the decision taken by the Cabinet Committee on Security in its meeting chaired by the then Pri
me Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee on January 04, 2003," the statement added.
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/sto...om-20-day-deterrent-patrol-1383188-2018-11-05
