The Indian Navy aims to procure new
nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSN) under
Project 75 Alpha.
[2] The
Government of India approved the construction of six of such submarines in February 2015.
[3] These will be designed by the Navy's in-house Directorate of Naval Design and built in India at the Shipbuilding Centre at
Visakhapatnam. The construction is expected to commence on 2023-24 while the first submarine is expected to enter service in 2032.
Since India is a traditional user of Russian nuclear submarines (with
INS Chakra on lease) the new domestically built submarines would be third class of SSN operated by Indian navy after leased
Charlie I and
Akula II-class submarines.
[4][5]
Development[edit]
The program to construct and deploy a fleet of nuclear submarines was first envisaged in late 1990s. Patrolling by
People's Liberation Army Navy ships further fast-tracked
India's naval expansion programs. As per the initial plan, first 4
Arihant class submarines and later much larger
S5 class nuclear
ballistic missile submarines, and 6 nuclear
attack submarines were planned.
[6]
The submarines will be powered by a miniature
pressurised water reactor (PWR) being developed by the
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre which has already supplied a similar 83 MW miniature reactor for the
Arihant-class submarine SSBNs.
[4]
On 24 June 2019, it was reported that ₹100 crore (US$13 million) have been allocated for the initial phase of the project. The submarines will be designed by Directorate of Naval Design and the development is expected to continue till 2025.
Mishra Dhatu Nigam is developing a new hull material that is expected to allow the submarine to dive to deeper depths than
Arihant class. A scaled down model of the submarine is planned to be tested first. The total cost of the project is estimated to be around
₹1
lakh crore (US$13 billion).
[7]
In February 2020,
The Economic Times reported that the preliminary design phase of the programme has been successfully completed. The report stated that Submarine Design Group of the Directorate of Naval Design, assisted by the
DRDO, will now start working on the detailed design and construction phase of the programme.
[1]
The
Indian Navy has prioritized the construction of Project 75 Alpha submarines over the third aircraft carrier.
[8]
Initially three submarines are planned to undergo construction in 2023-24 while the remaining three will get clearance later. The first boat is expected to enter service in 2032.
[9] The ship class will have a final design clearance in Gurugram by Submarine Design Group, its nuclear reactor will be built in
Kalpakkam, hull fabrication will take place in
Hazira and finally assembly and sea trials will be undertaken at the ship-building centre (SBC) in
Visakhapatnam.
[10]
See also
en.wikipedia.org