Indian Navy Introduces First Nuclear Missile Submarine From its Next Generation

The Indian Navy has introduced its first of a new generation of enhanced Arihant Class ballistic missile submarines, the INS Arighat, which promises to significantly strengthen the second arm of the country’s nuclear triad. The warship has faced significant difficulties in its preparation for service since being launched seven years ago on November 19, 2017, with its service entry being more than three years behind schedule. The&nbsp;Arighat&nbsp;is one of the lightest nuclear powered submarines in the world, displacing just 6000 tons when fully submerged, with each requiring only an 83 megawatt nuclear reactor for power. To place this in perspective, the Russian Borei Class ballistic missile submarine displaces 24,000 tons and is powered by a&nbsp;190 megawatt reactor, while the world’s largest ballistic missile submarine the Typhoon Class displaces over 40,000 tons.&nbsp;Each&nbsp;Arihant Class ship&nbsp;can carry up to 12 K-5 short ranged ballistic missiles, which have ranges of just 750 kilometres – comparable to that of an extended range Scud missile. They can alternatively be armed with four larger K-4 intermediate range ballistic missiles, which have 3,500 kilometres ranges. The submarine class has the shortest engagement range of any kind of ballistic missile submarine, although India is thought to be planning a compact intercontinental range ballistic missile class for its future strategic submarines.&nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2024/08/31/article_66d27a3fa10292_46924056.jpg" title="INS Arighat (X/@deepanshuS27)">Although the Indian Navy already fields one&nbsp;Arihant Class submarine, the INS Arihant, the warship was seen as a stopgap design until further improvements could be made, with the&nbsp;INS&nbsp;Arighat being the first of a much improved class.&nbsp;Two further modernised Arihant Class submarines are currently in production for the Indian Navy, with some reports indicating that these will be equipped with K-4 intermediate range ballistic missiles, where the&nbsp;INS&nbsp;Arighat has reportedly been armed with short ranged K-5s.&nbsp;Of the world’s nine nuclear weapons states, only Pakistan and Israel lack ballistic missile submarines, although both deploy cruise missiles tipped with nuclear warheads on smaller diesel electric powered submarines. India and North Korea are the most recent counties to have built nuclear armed ballistic missile submarines, with the Korean People’s Army Navy having completed its second Gorae Class ballistic missile submarine in late 2023. While all of North Korea’s modern submarines are indigenous, India still relies on Russian submarines to form the bulk of its fleet. Displacing over twice as much as the Arihant Class, by far the largest submarine class set to be fielded by the Indian Navy is the nuclear powered Russian Akula Class attack submarine, of which one has been leased from the country with the lease of up to two more currently under consideration. Although the Akula Class is an older Russian design, with the first having been commissioned in 1984, it is still expected to provide a revolutionary boost to the country’s undersea capabilities, and to potentially bolster the country’s nuclear deterrent by deploying nuclear tipped cruise missiles.&nbsp;