A second Indian submarine capable of launching nuclear missiles was commissioned on Thursday, as New Delhi is strengthens its deterrents to deal with nuke-capable neighbors China and Pakistan.
INS Arighaat, the second ship of the Arihant-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, was commissioned into India‘s navy at the city of Visakhapatnam. The Indian Defense Ministry did not release any imagery of the new submarine in its press release.
This class of submarine, with the first boat INS Arihant commissioned in 2016, is equipped with four large-diameter missile silos. Each of them has three tubes for K-15 ballistic missiles, which have a range of 400 nautical miles, according to Naval News’ maritime security analyst H.I. Sutton.
A Hindu priest offer prayers during the launch of Vagsheer, India’s sixth Scorpene-class diesel-electric attack submarine, in Mumbai, India, April 20, 2022.
Rafiq Maqbool/AP Photo
“Each missile tube should be able to fit a single K-4 missile,” Sutton noted. In comparison with the K-15, the K-4 is a full-size submarine-launched ballistic missile, which has an estimated range of 1,900 nautical miles. The Arihant-class is also armed with torpedoes for attacking submarines.
In his address during the Arighaat‘s commissioning ceremony, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said that the submarine will further strengthen and enhance the country’s nuclear triad and nuclear deterrence, as well as help in establishing strategic balance and peace in the region.
“The presence of both INS Arihant and INS Arighaat will enhance India’s capability to deter potential adversaries and safeguard its national interests,” he said.
Nuclear triad refers to a three-pronged delivery structure that is composed of land-based ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and aircraft capable of carrying nuclear bombs.
Each leg of the nuclear triad has unique and complementary attributes. The ballistic missile submarine is survivable as at least one from the fleet is always on patrol, making it difficult for adversaries to track all of them. This type of submarine provides the retaliatory second nuclear strike capability.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) estimated that India has a nuclear stockpile of about 172 warheads as of January this year, while China and Pakistan have 500 and 170 nuclear warheads, respectively.
SIPRI also estimated that a dozen of the Indian nuclear warheads has been delivered for potential deterrence deployment by the Arihant and another twelve have been produced for the Arighaat.
The role of nuclear weapons in the Indian military doctrine has evolved from deterring Pakistan only until over a decade ago to targeting China as well in recent years, SIPRI said. India’s nuclear weapons had increased from shorter-range to longer-range, covering the entire Chinese territory.
India has successfully tested a nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile with a new delivery system in March. By using multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicle technology, the missile can now carry different payloads, such as micro- and mini-nukes and large thermo-nuclear weapons.
