India launches N-powered submarine
Monday, July 27, 2009
NEW DELHI: India launched on Sunday its first nuclear-powered submarine capable of firing ballistic missiles, completing a nuclear triad encompassing land, air and sea, officials said.
The submarine, Arihant, the first of two similar submarines to be built indigenously with technical help from Russia, will undergo sea trials before its formal induction in 2015, defence officials said.
The project is part of a $2.9 billion plan to build five submarines, delayed for years due to technical problems, officials said. The country already has fighter aircraft and missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Experts say India is modernising its armed forces and is focusing on improving its naval fleet with new ships and submarines to counter the strategic interest of China in the region.
The sea is increasingly becoming relevant in the context of Indias security interests and we must re-adjust our military preparedness to this changing environment, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, said after launching the submarine for trials.
We do not have any aggressive designs nor do we seek to threaten anyone. We seek an external environment ... conducive to our peaceful development and the protection of our value systems, Singh said at the southern port city of Vishakhapatnam.
During the launching ceremony, his wife Gursharan Kaur broke a coconut on the hull of the submarine at its secret naval base Matsya dockyard in Vishakapatnam.Defence Minister AK Antony, Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy were also present on the occasion.
I would also like to express our appreciation to our Russian friends for their consistent and invaluable cooperation, which symbolises the close strategic partnership that we enjoy with Russia, the prime minister said.
Today we join a select group of five nations who possess the capability to build a nuclear-powered submarine, he said. According to media reports, Code-named Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV), Arihant will carry Sagarika (K-15) missile that has a range of 700 kms.
Defence Minister AK Antony while referring to Indias non aggression and no-first-use nuclear policy, said the situation in the region had necessitated the need for a credible second-strike capability.
News Desk adds: Indias first indigenously built nuclear-powered submarine launched on Sunday will take much longer than the projected two years to become operational, according to naval experts, who say the real big test now is to ensure that the on-board reactor attains criticality.
Noting there is a still lot left to do, the experts said scientists had a onerous task to see that the on-board nuclear reactor, the heart of the submarine, attained criticality without any hitches.
Naval officials said the INS Arihant (Destroyer of Enemies) codenamed Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) will undergo two years of sea trials in the Bay of Bengal after which they hoped to see the submarine commissioned for full service.
It is little optimistic only for one reason because it the first of its class. In the first of the class, there are a large number of checks to be carried out. It could take much longer time frame than the two years being projected (for INS Arihant), said Vice Admiral A K Singh (retd), former Captain of the INS Chakra, the Charlie-class nuclear submarine.
The second ATV or the third ATV will definitely come out much faster, Singh said. C Uday Bhaskar, Director, National Maritime Foundation, said, I dont think we should over interpret the capability of the Arihant at this stage because there are many more complex technological steps before the particular nuclear reactor on the Arihant acquires criticality.
Bhaskar said hopefully three to five years down the road, India would be a credible naval power because the country would then have the capability to fit the submarine with nuclear propulsion.
Former naval chief Admiral (retd) Arun Prakash said a lot of work lies ahead for the countrys scientists and engineers. The big day will however come when the nuclear reactor attains criticality, he said.
India launches N-powered submarine