INS ARIHANT

About:

• INS Arihant, a 6,000-tonne submarine is the lead ship of India's Arihant class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines built under the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project.
  
  
• Power source: INS Arihant is propelled by an 83 MW pressurised light-water reactor at its core with enriched uranium fuel.
  
  
• Builder: Shipbuilding Centre (SBC), Visakhapatnam. It’s India’s first indigenously built nuclear submarine.
  
  
• SSBN: It is a ‘Ship Submersible Ballistic Nuclear Submarine’ (SSBN). SSBN's are those class of submarines which can lurk deep beneath the ocean making them virtually undetectable for months, they also carry nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles.
  
  
• Armament:
  • It is capable of carrying ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads.
    
    
  • It is presently armed with the K-15 Sagarika missiles with a range of 750 km.
    
    
  • Later, it will also be armed with K-4 missiles, being developed by the DRDO, which are capable of striking targets at a distance of up to 3,500 km.
    
    
  • These 'K' series of missiles are named after former President APJ Abdul Kalam.
    
    
  
  
  
• Timeline:
  • 1980s: The Advanced Technology Project (ATV) project began in the 1980s
    
    
  • 2009: First of the ATV Submarine was Launched by PM Manmohan Singh.
    
    
  • 2013: The nuclear reactor of the submarine went ‘critical’.
    
    
  • 2016: According to Media Reports, Arihant was quietly commissioned into service in August 2016 by PM Modi but its induction was never officially acknowledged.
    
    
  • 2018 (November): INS Arihant conducted its first deterrence patrol. This means that Arihant is now prowling the deep seas carrying ballistic missiles equipped with nuclear warheads.
    
    
  
  
  

What next?

• Besides INS Arihant, two other such submarines are also being constructed under the ATV (Advanced Technology Vessel) program launched “decades ago”.
  
  
• The second submarine in the series, Arighat is now undergoing sea trials after which it will be inducted into service.
  
  

Significance:

• Nuclear triad:
  • With its induction India completed its ‘nuclear triad’ and joined elite league of countries.
    
    
  • A nuclear triad allows a country to launch nuclear missile from all three key defence bastions — land, air and sea.
    
    
  • Triad is important because in an enemy strike, even if one or even two of the wings are destroyed, the third can launch a retaliatory strike.
    
    
  
  
  
• Provides Second strike capability
  • It is designed specially to be in deep ocean waters carrying nuclear weapons and provides a guaranteed ‘second strike’ capability to the country i.e. it can hit back after being attacked by a nuclear weapon.
    
    
  • This is important because India, as part of its nuclear doctrine, follows a ‘no first use’ policy, a practice that Pakistan has refused to adopt.
    
    
  
  
  
• INS Arihant places India in the league of a few countries that can design, construct and operate Strategic Strike Nuclear Submarines.