Indian nuclear submarines

[nitesh]

please don't just copy paste the such an important article guys, lot of information is given

Deep impact

At around noon on July 20, history was created at a brightly-lit, completely enclosed dry dock called the Ship Building Centre in Visakhapatnam. As the waters from the harbour cascaded into the 15-metre deep dry dock, a long black shape sitting on a series of wooden blocks, stirred. With a lurch, it slowly rose, just like a sea monster.

After 11 years of construction, the Arihant (meaning destroyer of enemies), India’s first indigenous nuclearpowered submarine, was finally in the water. The three-hour ‘test undocking’ was only the dress rehearsal. The actual July 26 event will see Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s wife Gursharan Kaur breaking the auspicious coconut on the hull of the 5,000-tonne submarine, following the naval tradition where a lady launches a warship.

The momentous launch would complete a cycle which began in 1974 with the then prime minister Indira Gandhi authorising the building of a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) under the classified Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project. For over three decades, the highly classified programme has been propelled by political vigour.

Carried out under the direct supervision of successive prime ministers, it formed part of the national secrets, including the nuclear weapons programme, which each incumbent bequeathed to his successor. “The launch of the submarine puts us in an exclusive league of five other nations capable of designing and building their own nuclear submarines,” says Vice-Admiral (retired) M.K. Roy, the ATV’s first project director.

The legacy of prime ministers

The ATV project has remained under the direct supervision and control of Indian prime ministers.

Indira Gandhi, 1966-77 and 1980-84
Authorises building of an Nsub (SSBN) after 1974 Pokhran test. Launches ATV programme in March 1984. Signs IGA with the Soviet Union in 1984 for assistance in design and construction of an N-sub.

Rajiv Gandhi, 1984-89
Oversees ATV programme in its early years. Understood its relevance to the N-weapon programme he restarted. Became the only Indian PM to visit an N-sub, the INS Chakra, leased from Russia in 1988.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee, 1998-2004
Conducts N-tests, enunciates nuclear doctrine which calls for a submarine-based second-strike capability. Reopens talks with Russia for N-sub lease to train crews and assistance on the reactor. Deal for leasing one Akula-2 N-sub signed.

Manmohan Singh, 2004 till date
Supervises the final phase of ATV construction. Enlarges the N-sub programme with sanction for building of a new class of SSNs and SSBNs based on Russia’s Akula class for a projected fleet of 10 N-subs over the next 20 years.

A nuclear submarine is powered by a nuclear reactor which generates tremendous heat that drives a steam turbine. It is, however, one of the most complex machines on earth, the reason why only five countries have the capability. The last country to join was China, way back in August 1971.
Unlike the conventional diesel-electric submarines which have to surface to charge their batteries, nuclear submarines have unlimited underwater endurance and their speed is twice that of their conventional counterparts.

Armed with nuclear tipped ballistic missiles (SLBMs), they form the third leg of a nation’s nuclear ‘triad’ comprising air and surface-launched nuclear weapons. Over the next five years, the troika of Arihant class SSBNs, each costing Rs 3,200 crore, will make the third leg of India’s nuclear triad—a strategic underwater platform for launching nuclear weapons.

The Arihant is, for all practical purposes, a functional, fully-fitted out submarine. After this brief ceremony, the submarine is to be towed out for the first time across the naval dockyard and moored in an enclosed pier called Site Bravo—“from the maternity ward to the nursery”, as one official puts it.

Over the next few months, it will commence a series of full system harbour trials. The primary system, a nuclear reactor, generates the heat which drives the secondary system, a steam turbine which spins the submarine’s propeller, are to be tested separately.

First, the steam turbine is to be jump-started with shore-based supply. The next significant step will be starting up the submarine’s nuclear reactor where the zirconium rods in the core of the submarine’s 80 MW pressurised water reactor will be slowly raised, allowing the reactor to become critical in slow degrees. It will take around three weeks to go fully critical.

Only after all systems are tested, will the primary and secondary systems be mated. If all goes well, the submarine will be allowed to sail out to begin sea trials next year. Weapon trials, including the firing of its arsenal of 12 K-15 short range ballistic missiles, are the last stage of the trials before the submarine is finally commissioned to the navy by 2011.

The submarine will carry four of an under-development submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM) ‘K-X’ with 3,500-km range, each with several warheads called multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs). These missiles will enable the submarine to conduct deterrent patrols in proximity to Indian waters.

The Indian Navy is only responsible for running and maintaining the nuclear submarines. All its tasking and patrols are to be controlled by the Nuclear Command Authority (NCA) headed by the prime minister. Orders will be passed to the submarine through a secure communication network. The launch of the Arihant is a major step forward in India’s quest for a minimal but credible nuclear deterrent. Its Asian rival China has 10 nuclear-powered submarines and is building an equal number, giving the Chinese navy tremendous reach into the Indian Ocean. But India has still a long way to go, says strategic affairs expert Brahma Chellaney.

“It will still be some years before an N-sub with SLBMs is deployed. In fact, the gaps in India’s nuclear deterrent vis-à-vis China remain glaring. If India’s nuclear deterrent was credible, Beijing wouldn’t mess with India. But the rising Chinese bellicosity suggests otherwise,” he says.

The Arihant has taken 11 years to complete. It is the first in a series of nuclear-powered submarines to be built over the next two decades. The long arduous road began in 1967 with a Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) feasibility report on nuclear propulsion. A more detailed report was presented in 1971. And after the Pokhran nuclear test of 1974, Indira Gandhi authorised a project to build a nuclear submarine which would carry a robust, survivable nuclear deterrent. It was always called a naval reactor project.

Chain of command

The decision-makers who guide the nuke submarine project

Prime minister
Heads Nuclear Command Authority. Supervises project through National Security Adviser.

Political council
Defence Minister, Finance Minister, External Affairs Minister. Decides on the funding of the project.

Executive council
National Security Adviser, Navy chief, DRDO chief, BARC chief, DG-ATV.


For a good reason though. Compacting a nuclear reactor to fit snugly within the submarine’s 10-metre diameter steel cylinder was going to be the greatest challenge. The reactor also had to go from full ahead to full astern and also from high speed to low speed. The BARC derivatives of its civilian power reactors were too large and incapable of meeting the required performance parameters. Work on the ATV began only in the 1980s with Soviet assistance.
In 1981, Indira Gandhi sent a joint navy and BARC team to visit the USSR to study an offer from the Soviet Union to design and build nuclear submarine. “She was enthused by the fact that we were getting access to so much hightechnology,” says a former project head. Months before her assassination in 1984, Indira Gandhi supervised a secret intergovernmental agreement with the Soviet Union under which India would receive training on handling a nuclear submarine and design assistance to build one.

A three-year lease was signed for acquiring an elderly Charlie-I class nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine (SSGN). And the ATV project team was set up, headed by a retired vice-admiral, who was given the rank of secretary to the Government of India who and reported to the chief of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The first group from the navy’s nascent Submarine Design Group (SDG) which actually designed the ATV trained with Russia’s Rubin design bureau. Funds for the Rs 2,800-crore project were never a problem and were sanctioned from the cabinet secretariat, and the joint DRDO-Navy project was always a closed loop within the Prime Minister’s Office.

After Indira’s assassination, the ATV baton passed on to Rajiv Gandhi who was also the defence minister. “Rajiv understood both technology and strategy and was in favour of the project. He would keenly participate in our discussions on whether our N-submarine needed one reactor or two and the availability of enriched uranium for the reactors,” says a former project official.

In January 1988, Rajiv donned work overalls and boarded the INS Chakra as she steamed into Visakhapatnam to join the navy. He became the only Indian prime minister to board a nuclear-powered submarine. The return of the Chakra at the expiry of its lease in 1991 coincided with the implosion of the former Soviet Union, the tectonic event that nearly killed the project. Officials say there was a perceptible lack of political interest in the project on both sides: President Boris Yeltsin in Russia and prime minister Narasimha Rao. The SDG, meanwhile, began converting the Charlie-1 designs for industrial manufacture.

The Indian private sector was chosen to build the 104-metre-long prototype, dubbed S2. Larsen&Toubro (L&T) built the hull, Tata Power made the control systems and Walchandnagar Industries made the complex high pressure pumps and valves which carried saturated steam. The BARC had still not succeeded in perfecting the reactor so the Government decided to continue reactor development parallel to the construction of the first submarine.

On January 5, 1998, in a quiet ceremony at the L&T’s Hazira facility, the then DRDO chief APJ Abdul Kalam symbolically cut the first steel plate of the ATV. The project picked up speed under the NDA and during the tenure of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the prime minister who stunned the world by bringing India out of the nuclear closet. Vajpayee, who also headed the newly-established NCA, chaired the apex committee of the ATV.

The project also had two other authorities—the political and the executive council. The project remained under the direct control of Vajpayee through his national security adviser, Brajesh Mishra. Talks for the lease of another nuclear submarine with Russia were revived.

In January 2004, India and Russia signed a secret $650-million intergovernmental agreement (IGA) for the completion and lease of one unfinished Akula class nuclear-powered attack submarine and training crews to man them. (The submarine, also called the Chakra, is undergoing trials in Russia and is expected to join the navy later this year). The crucial part of the IGAwas the assistance to build the reactor, which had delayed the project by years.

The project entered its last mile during Manmohan Singh’s first tenure in 2004. He attended several meetings and would often ask project officials, “Everything alright?” The query was a mere formality because the project received unstinted support. In 2005, the UPA Government gave an in-principle clearance for building a follow-on series of larger ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs), costing nearly Rs 8,000 crore a piece or nearly twice that of the current series of ATVs and another line of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines (SSNs) to escort them.

“If you need money, you’ll get it,” the then finance minister P. Chidambaram had assured the project team. The last and most important milestone was reached in 2006 when an indigenously-built version of the Russian VM-4 PWR, which propelled the Charlie-1, was successfully landtested and sealed into the hull of the ATV the following year.

As Singh walks towards the Arihanton July 26, he can have the satisfaction of having supervised the final chapter in India’s nuclear destiny.

 

[venom]

Securing the seas

India’s first nuclear-powered submarine marks the start of navy deployments and reforms that will catapult it into the league of serious maritime powers.

One hallmark of some of the world’s path-breaking projects has been the choice of impressively lofty names. The first atomic bomb was built under Project Manhattan. Project Apollo put the first man on the moon. But for some reason, perhaps simply native modesty, one of India’s most challenging technological developments — its first nuclear-powered submarine — has been cloaked in blandness. When tomorrow morning, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s wife, Gursharan Kaur, breaks a coconut on the hull of what is referred to as the ATV or the Advanced Technology Vessel, to christen it INS Arihant, it will launch a new era for the navy.

With the christening, water will be let into the Vishakhapatnam dock called The Shipbuilding Centre, from where INS Arihant will begin its underwater journey. Once submerged, it will undergo two years of extensive trials, first in harbour and then at sea, before formally joining the navy.

Nuclear-powered submarines are of two types. Ballistic missile submarines, termed SSBNs in the US Navy (colloquial term: “boomers” or “bombers”), carry nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles. These form the third leg of a country’s nuclear triad: airborne, surface, and underwater-based launch platforms. INS Arihant is a ballistic missile submarine armed with twelve K-15 missiles, each capable of carrying a 500-kg nuclear warhead to a target 750-km away. It will be deployed almost continuously off the coast of any potential enemy, a virtually undetectable and indestructible missile launcher.

The Arihant will not be alone. Two other boomers are under construction at L&T’s Hazira plant. These will probably be followed by more, equipped with longer-range nuclear-tipped missiles.

The second type of nuclear-powered submarine is the SSN, or attack submarine, armed with torpedoes and cruise missiles. These operate as a part of the navy, performing the task of “sea denial”, or preventing enemy ships — both naval and commercial — from using large expanses of the ocean. An attack submarine’s nuclear plant eliminates the need to surface, allowing it to remain underwater for months. India will shortly be leasing an advanced “Akula II class” attack submarine — named INS Chakra — from Russia, followed by a second after a year long interval.

In addition to a new fleet of nuclear submarines, a growing stable of major surface warships are catapulting the Indian navy into the league of serious maritime powers. Cochin Shipyard is building a 40,000-ton indigenous aircraft carrier which is likely to be commissioned into the Indian navy in 2014, followed by a successor vessel in 2017. The controversial INS Vikramaditya, as the Gorshkov will be renamed, could also be commissioned by 2012.

For the navy, these are times of change. After decades as a near-invisible subaltern service, the growth in its force structure, visibility and budget are being warily observed by every other power in the Indian Ocean Region and the Asia-Pacific. The chief of naval staff, Admiral Sureesh Mehta, has publicly articulated the navy’s plans to boost warship numbers to 165-170, up from 140 vessels today. And because building ships in India costs less than half their cost abroad, India’s three defence shipyards — Mazagon Dock Limited, Mumbai; Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata; and the smaller Goa Shipyard Limited — have more warship orders than current capacities can handle.

The latest order placed on Mazagon and Garden Reach is for seven new-generation stealth frigates under Project 17A, 5600-ton warships, each capable of dominating vast stretches of ocean. India’s growing skill in integrating disparate sensors and weapons on indigenous warships gives them heavier punches than most other warships of the same weight class.

Senior naval planners explain the logic behind India’s rapid naval expansion. Other than the great naval powers — US, Russia and, now arguably, China — most major navies operate in alliance with one of the big players. Since the Cold War, for example, Britain’s royal navy has functioned in alliance with the US navy, specialising in anti-submarine warfare, and relying on US cover for crucial aspects like anti-air defence.

In contrast, India has always rejected military alliances. As a serving naval admiral elaborates, “India is different. We can operate for a short while as a partnership navy, but definitely not as part of a military alliance. We, therefore, need a balanced navy with all-round capability which can operate alone for as long as it takes.” But even while rejecting formal alliances, Indian navy admirals realise that to be taken seriously, a navy must be visible. That has spawned a series of annual exercises with foreign navies, including the Malabar series with the US Navy, the Varuna series with the French navy, the Konkan series with Britain’s royal navy, and the Indra series with the Russian navy. Early this year, India sent three warships to China for the 60th anniversary celebrations of its navy.

“It’s important to strut your stuff,” says a naval planner, “you visit a foreign port and invite your counterparts to a cocktail party on board. While sipping their drinks on the warship’s deck, they are taking note of the weaponry you’re carrying. You’re sending a clear message.”

The desire for a more powerful and visible navy is rooted in growing concern over India’s 7,516 km of coastline, the vulnerability of which stood exposed during the 26/11 terrorist strikes. Protection is also needed for an exclusive economic zone of 2 million sq km, which may go up to 2.5 million sq km once India’s continental shelf is delineated and placed before the International Seabed Authority. Naval officers point out that India’s entire land mass is just 3.28 million sq km.

A related argument marshalled by strong-navy enthusiasts is the protection of trade: 90 per cent of India’s trade by volume and 77 per cent by value is transported by sea. Especially vulnerable is the country’s oil dependency; according to Hydrocarbon Vision 2025, India’s current oil import level of 74 per cent of consumption will rise to 88 per cent of consumption by mid-century. Almost all of that comes by sea. The navy is also expected to protect busy international trade routes that pass close by Indian shores (100,000 freight vessels annually; one billion tons of oil).

Naval planners point to the historic link between trade and military power. An officer explained, “In the colonial period, it was said that ‘trade follows the flag’. Today, we see, as with China in Africa, the flag follows trade. But in no case can trade be divorced from the flag.” An indicator of the navy’s shift into the mainstream of Indian strategic planning — more so than the growing number of capital warships — is the growth in its command and administrative infrastructure. The deep-water Karwar naval base, located 34 nautical miles (55 km) south of Goa, is already functioning. Aimed at decongesting Mumbai, Karwar will be base for more than 40 ships, including the aircraft carrier Vikramaditya when it is commissioned.

Also nearing completion is INS Kadamba, an administrative support base, commissioned in 2005. Another important addition is the new Naval Academy at Ezhimala, 280 km north of Kochi, inaugurated this January to train 750 cadets a year. You will need professionals to man the Indian navy’s growing fleet.

Ajai Shukla / New Delhi July 25, 2009, 0:24 IST

Securing the seas

 

[SATISH]

I think our frigates can be called as destroyers. The size and firepower of our frigates are increasing by every order. 4k tonnes to 6k tonnes...wow...back to the topic...India is also planning an SSN I guess...seems the SSN will be the same size of the SSBN...just remove the ballistic missile launchers and load it with more torpedoes and Ctuise missiles and sensors.

 

[Pintu]

India’s first indigenous nuclear submarine to launch tomorrow

India’s first indigenous nuclear submarine to launch tomorrow

Ians

July 25th, 2009​

NEW DELHI - Marking a quantum leap in India’s shipbuilding capabilities, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will Sunday launch the country’s first indigenously designed and built nuclear-powered attack submarine in Visakhapatnam, an official said.

The prime minister will launch the vessel. The function will also be attended by the defence minister (A.K. Antony), a senior defence ministry official told IANS Saturday, requesting anonymity.

The submarine is currently housed in a dry dock, which will be flooded with sea water to mark the launching ceremony.

July 26 is annually commemorated as Kargil Victory Day to mark the Indian Army’s success against Pakistani intruders who had occupied the area in Jammu and Kashmir in 1999.

The submarine will be commissioned in the Indian Navy as INS Arihant, which translates as “destroyer of enemies”, after extensive outfitting and sea trial. It is the first of three such vessels to be built in the country. Hitherto, submarines have been built here under licence from their foreign designers.

Earlier this year, Antony had lifted the cloak from India’s secret submarine project, saying: “Things (the project) are in the final stage. Some years back, there were some bottlenecks in terms of supply of parts. It is over now. We will announce it (the vessel’s launch) whenever it is ready.”

The construction of the advanced technology vessel (ATV), as the project is designated, is in line with India’s nuclear doctrine enunciated in 1999 that calls for its nuclear forces to be effective, enduring, diverse, flexible, and responsive to the requirements in accordance with the concept of credible minimum deterrence. The doctrine calls for high survivability against surprise attacks and for rapid punitive response.

A nuclear submarine, which can remain submerged for prolonged periods of time and is virtually undetectable underwater, therefore, meets all these criteria and offers an invaluable launch platform for nuclear weapons, the doctrine says.

It is the world’s most powerful deterrent force — a stealthy undersea platform with enormous nuclear firepower. For a country like India with a no-first use policy, it is vital because it prevents a potential adversary from launching a crippling first-strike to knock out all nuclear weapons, the doctrine says.

The Indian Navy will also get a Russian-built Akula class nuclear submarine, to be commissioned as INS Chakra, by the year-end. Currently undergoing sea-trials, the delivery date for the Russian submarine was pushed back following an accident on board. The navy will use the submarine to train its crew in handling nuclear-powered vessels.

 

[Pintu]

http://ptinews.com/news/194062_PM-to-launch-INS-Arihant-in-Visakhapatnam-tomorrow

PM to launch INS Arihant in Visakhapatnam tomorrow

STAFF WRITER 18:19 HRS IST

Hyderabad, July 25 (PTI) The Indian Navy is all set to join the global elite club tomorrow when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh formally launches the indigenously-built nuclear-powered submarine INS Arihant at the Naval Dockyard of the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam.

Prime Minister will arrive at the ENC's airbase INS Dega in Visakhapatnam by a special IAF plane along with his wife at 11 am and drive straight to the Naval Dockyard to commission INS Arihant into the sea.

The 6000-tonne submarine will first be put on sea trials for two years before being commissioned into full service.

In the two years, the submarine will also undergo harbour trials of its nuclear reactor and other systems.

Tomorrow's launch of the submarine coincides with the "Vijay Diwas" marking India's triumph over Pakistani intruders in Kargil.

 

[F-14]

fingers crossed guys now i cant sleep the whole night

 

[Arjak]

Hmmm....me too.....tomorrow's the bang bang day.....man,i cant wait anymore

 

[venom]

Dive into future: India goes nuclear, under water

New Delhi: Eleven years after India stunned the world by coming out of the nuclear closet, it’s planning another leap that will be the next big milestone in its emergence as a credible nuclear weapons power.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will launch India's first nuclear-powered submarine, which is being built to fire nuclear-armed ballistic missiles.

Named INS Arihant (destroyer of enemies), the submarine will complete India's triad of nuclear weapons which can be fired from land, air and under the sea

The 5,000-ton vessel will be armed with 12 nuclear-armed K-15 ballistic missiles which have a 700 km range.

The K-15s will later be replaced by 3,500 km-range K-X missiles.

Its 80-MW nuclear reactor will ensure that it can stay submerged for as long as it takes.

With a speed of 22 knots, it'll be much faster than conventional submarines, and for a ballistic missile-firing sub, it is diminutive: its 104-metre length and 10-metre width earning it the title of the baby boomer.

The Arihant has taken 11 years to build and is expected to be operational by 2011, by which time India would have trained its crews on a leased Akula class Russian submarine.

India hopes to have a fleet of 10 nuclear submarines in 20 years.

It's a modest start. China, in comparison, already has 10, giving it growing reach in the Indian Ocean, and the US as many as 74.

Dive into future: India goes nuclear, under water

Check out the link, There's a pic of ATV at the time of construction

 

[venom]

The Countdown Begins.....

 

[Pintu]

The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Nation | Nuclear submarine to hit water today

Nuclear submarine to hit water today

SUJAN DUTTA

The INS Kursura on display as part
of the INS Kursura Submarine
Museum at Ramakrishna Beach in
Visakhapatnam on Saturday. The
Russian- built Foxtrot-class
submarine, commissioned on
December 18, 1969, served in the
Indian Navy until 2001. It now
serves as a museum ship on display
at the beach. India’s first nuclear-
powered submarine, the top-secret Advanced Technology Vessel, will
be “put to water” on Sunday at the
Visakhapatnam naval dockyard. (AFP picture)

New Delhi, July 25: When the bugle and the bass sound over Drass and Kargil on Sunday to commemorate 10 years of the Himalayan war, India will get its ultimate military weapon in the south: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will oversee the opening of a pen in Visakhapatnam’s naval base that houses the country’s first nuclear submarine.

For close to three decades, the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV), as the nuclear submarine project was called, has easily been the country’s most important and secretive strategic weapons programme.

The media has been told expressly that no photography will be allowed tomorrow. Only five other countries operate nuclear submarines: the US, Russia, China, France and the UK.

“If we had the right type of deterrent, we would not have had the Kargil war. The ATV is the ultimate in deterrence,” says Admiral Sushil Kumar. “I can say that successive navy chiefs have been waiting for it anxiously,” he added.

Now retired, Admiral Kumar was the Chief of Naval Staff from December 1998 to December 2001. As the war in Kargil raged, he ordered his eastern fleet to the western seaboard, threatening Pakistan’s Karachi coast.

Christened the INS Arihant (Sanskrit for “destroyer of enemies”), the submarine will be “put to water” from its dry-dock tomorrow. The navy optimistically expects that the submarine can be inducted into its fleet in two to four years.

But, as Admiral Kumar says: “If you look at strategic projects of the armed forces with any degree of honesty, not a single project has been on time.”

The Indian Navy’s submarine fleet, headquartered in Visakhapatnam, has 16 vessels, all of them conventional (diesel-electric), meaning that they have to keep surfacing — making them more easily detectable — to take in air to charge the engines. A nuclear submarine is capable of staying underwater for months at a stretch.

Although the idea of a nuclear submarine is a cold war product, New Delhi’s military strategists have through the decades have been convinced that it is necessary in India’s regional environment.

A reasonable time-frame for the Arihant to become fully operational is six years. But later this year, for the second time, India will take delivery of an Akula II class nuclear submarine from Russia on lease.

The first time the Indian Navy operated a nuclear submarine was from 1988 to 1991 when it took the INS Chakra on lease from Russia.

The Indian nuclear submarine, “which has substantial technological inputs from the Russians”, as a senior naval officer said, is of a different category than the INS Chakra that was leased or the one (also to be called the INS Chakra) that India expects to get by December. Unlike the INS Chakra, the INS Arihant is designed as an SSBN, Americanese for “ship submersible ballistic nuclear”, meaning that it is not an attack submarine (or SSN) designed to hunt and kill surface and undersea vessels.

An SSBN is designed to be capable of firing missiles with nuclear warheads from under water at targets on land and on the surface. The ATV project, conceptualised in Indira Gandhi’s regime after India’s first nuclear tests in 1974, has always been supervised by the Prime Minister’s Office.

Scientists and technologists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation have been assigned to the navy for its development.

The plan is to make five ATVs. Apart from the Arihant that will be put to water tomorrow, two others are being shaped in collaboration with Larsen and Toubro.

It is only after the induction of the Arihant that the Indian strategic establishment can claim to have developed a nuclear triad — the third-leg of its nuclear deterrence posture since adopting a policy for “no first use” of nuclear weapons. The first and second legs are capabilities to fire nuclear weapons from land from aircraft.

The undersea capability is seen as the ultimate deterrence because a nuclear submarine capable of staying long periods undetected is expected to survive a first strike and hit back with a massive second strike.

“On the surface and above, you are detectable by the electro-magnetic spectrum,” explains Admiral Kumar. “But the underwater is opaque; therefore it will give us confidence.”

 

[xebex]

PM to launch INS Arihant in Visakhapatnam today:dance4:

PM to launch INS Arihant in Visakhapatnam today
PTI 26 July 2009, 12:00am IST
Print Email Discuss Bookmark/Share Save Comment Text Size: |

HYDERABAD: The Indian Navy is all set to join the global elite club on Sunday when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh formally launches the
indigenously-built nuclear-powered submarine INS Arihant at the naval dockyard of the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) in Visakhapatnam.

Prime Minister will arrive at the ENC's airbase INS Dega in Visakhapatnam by a special IAF plane along with his wife at 11 am and drive straight to the naval dockyard to commission INS Arihant into the sea.

The 6000-tonne submarine will first be put on sea trials for two years before being commissioned into full service.

In these two years, the submarine will also undergo harbour trials of its nuclear reactor and other systems.

Sunday's launch coincides with Vijay Diwas marking India's triumph over Pakistani intruders in Kargil.

With the launch of the submarine India will join the exclusive club of US, Russia, China, France and the UK with similar capabilities.

The ENC headquarters in Visakhapatnam has been decked up for this historic event, navy sources said.

INS Arihant has been built under the advanced technology vessels (ATV) programme at a cost of USD 2.9 billion at the naval dockyard in Visakhapatnam.


PM to launch INS Arihant in Visakhapatnam today - Hyderabad - City - NEWS - The Times of India

 

[Pintu]

As per timesnow Breaking News: INS Arihant Launched by PM

Regards

 

[F-14]

she is out in the water grate brake the drinks boys

 

[xebex]

Does anybody has the pics of the beauty???

 

[Pintu]

INS Arihant launched :: Samay Live

INS Arihant launched

Published by: Amit Tiwari
Published: Sun, 26 Jul 2009 at 12:28 IST

Visakhapatnam: In a pride moment for the nation, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today dedicated the indigenously built nuke submarine INS Arihant to Indian Navy.

After paying tributes to Kargil War martyrs on 10th anniversary, Manmohan Singh, accompanied with defence Minister AK Antony and Naval chief, launched the nuclear-powered submarine at the Ship Building Centre here.

INS Arihant, means an enemy killer, submarine is referred to advanced technology vessel, which consumed 11 years long time to be launched.

India became the sixth country in the world to have such nuclear-powered submarine.

 

[Pintu]

Does anybody has the pics of the beauty???

No, xebex , image is not published yet, as photography is strictly prohibited at the launch site.

Regards

 

[F-14]

INS Arihant formally inducted into Navy
25 Jul 2009, 2353 hrs IST
India has finally joined the A-league with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh launching the indigenously-built nuclear-powered submarine INS Arihant at the naval dockyard in Visakhapatnam. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's wife Gurusharan Kaur launched the submarine at the Vishakapatnam port in the presence of top Defence and Navy officials.

INS Arihant's launch is a big step towards India's endeavour to build a 'credible nuclear weapon triad' - the capability to fire nukes from air, land and sea. With the launch of the indigenously-built submarine, India will join the exclusive club of the US, Russia, China, France and the UK with similar capabilities.

The 6000-tonne submarine will first be put on sea trials for two years before being commissioned into full service. In these two years, the submarine will also undergo harbour trials of its nuclear reactor and other systems.

It will take about three years for Arihant to become fully operational and fire submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), the sources added.


INS Arihant formally inducted into Navy- TIMESNOW.tv - Latest Breaking News, Big News Stories, News Videos

 

[sayareakd]

drinks on me, we party all night.........congrates to all my countrymen.......

 

[F-14]

aaj galo muskuralo mehafila saja lo

(ps : pls forgive me for my bad english-hindi combo)

 

[ZOOM]

I am dying to see India's first homegrown Nucler submarine. Hopefully it will be on trial for two long years and it will certainly going to unleash lots of technological challenges which will go a long way in changing the complexion of our Navy.

At the same time, This Nuke submarine will be a big moral booster for Indian Navy as it has now possess the ability to launch Ballastic Missiles in any part of the globe without bothering about distance. We can certainly source some help from US and French besides Russian to make it more lethal.