About:
- The capability of being able to launch nuclear weapons from submarines has great strategic importance in the context of achieving a nuclear triad, especially in the light of the ‘no first use’ policy of India.
- INS Arihant is India’s nuclear-powered ballistic missile capable submarine, classified under the SSBN programme.
- It was commissioned in 2016.
- INS Arihant is presently armed with K-15 SLBM with a range of 750 km.
- The next in the class, INS Arighat is reported to have been launched in 2017 and is said to have been undergoing sea trials.
SSBN:
- The SSBN is a hull classification symbol for nuclear-powered ballistic missile carrying submarines.
- Operations of the SLBMs from the SSBN are under the purview of Strategic Forces Command which is part of India’s Nuclear Command Authority.
Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs):
- The family of indigenously developed Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs), sometimes referred to as K-family missiles are codenamed after Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.
- Under the SLBM family, missiles of various ranges have been developed including K-15 also called Sagarika, which has a range of at least 750 km.
- India has also developed and tested the K-4 missiles from the same family, which have a range of 3,500 km.
