'Nuclear triad' closer as INS Arihant set for sea
08 August 2012
The Indian Naval chief on Wednesday said its first home-built nuclear submarine was set for sea trials, bringing the "triad" – the ability to fire nuclear weapons from the land, sea, and air – a step closer.
Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Nirmal Verma also gave newspersons in New Delhi some details of the armed forces' billion-dollar projects to arm its navy with modern warships, aircraft and weaponry.
The 6,000-ton INS Arihant (meaning 'destroyer of enemies') project unveiled in 2009 as part of a programme to construct five such vessels which would be armed with nuclear-tipped missiles and torpedoes. However, the launch of the vessel has (not surprisingly for India) been dogged by delays and uncertainty, the Navy chief admitted.
"Arihant is steadily progressing towards being operational, and we hope to commence sea trials in the coming months," Admiral Verma said. "Our maritime and nuclear doctrine will then be aligned to ensure that our nuclear insurance comes from the sea."
Arihant is powered by an 85-MW nuclear reactor and can reach a speed of 44 km an hour (24 knots). It will carry a 95-member crew.
The Arihant has four missile silos on its hump to carry either 12-K-15-S or four 3,500-km range K-4 missiles, which are under development. It will head for the sea only after its 83 MW pressurised light-water reactor goes "critical". So far, it has been undergoing systematic checks of all its sub-systems as well as "harbour-acceptance trials" on shore-based steam at Vizag.
The Indian Navy inducted a Russian-leased nuclear submarine into service in April 2012, joining China, France, the United States, Britain and Russia in the elite club of countries with nuclear-powered vessels.
Verma said 43 warships were currently under construction at local shipyards while the first of six Franco-Spanish Scorpene submarines under contract would join the Indian Navy in 2015 and the sixth by 2018.
The admiral said the navy was also poised to induct eight Boeing long-range P-81 maritime reconnaissance aircraft next year.
The Navy chief's emphatic statement comes a week after DRDO officially declared that the country's first-ever SLBM (submarine-launched ballistic missile) or the K-15 missile, with a strike range of 750-km, was "ready for induction".
India has for some time possessed the Agni series of ballistic missiles as well as fighter-bombers to constitute the land and air-based legs of the triad. The long-elusive underwater leg, considered the most effective for both pre-emptive as well as retaliatory strikes, now finally seems to be taking shape.
With 46 warships and submarines being constructed and another 49 in the pipeline under overall plans worth Rs 2.73 lakh crore, Admiral Verma said, "Today, I am confident we do not suffer asymmetries with anyone. We have the wherewithal to defend our maritime interests."
Combating terrorism
On maritime terrorism, Admiral Verma said both the Navy and Coast Guard were now much better prepared and equipped to tackle attacks like Mumbai's 26/11 strike from terrorist outfits. "Even before Abu Jundal (key 26/11 handler) said it, we had factored in such possibilities," he said.
"Terrorism from the sea and terrorism at sea are now realities of our times. In our external environment, one of our core concerns is the coalescing of the 'state' with 'non-state' entities," he added.
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