India has launched (søsat) its first nuclear-powered submarine, becoming only the sixth country in the world to do so, BBC online reports Sunday.
The 6.000 tonne Arihant (Sanskrit for “destroyer of enemies”) was launched by Indias Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at a ceremony on the south-east coast. It was built entirely in India with Russian assistance and a second one is due to be constructed shortly with more to follow.
The vessel will undergo trials over the next few years before being deployed – possibly in 2011 – and will be able to launch missiles at targets 700 km away. Until now, only the US, Russia, France, Britain and China had the capability to build nuclear submarines.
Until now India has been able to launch ballistic missiles only from the air and from land. Nuclear submarines will add a third dimension to its defence capability.
When it is eventually deployed, the top-secret Arihant will be able to stay under water for long periods and thereby increase its chances of remaining undetected. By contrast, Indias sixteen ageing conventional diesel-powered submarines need to surface to recharge their batteries.
The launching of the Arihant is seen as a clear sign that India is looking to blunt the threat from China which has a major naval presence in the region. China has 10 nuclear-powered submarines and is building an equal number more. Naval officials say that India has a long way to go before it can match Chinas nuclear arsenal, hence its focus on building a credible deterrence.
Asia Times adds, that besides the Arihant India later this year will take delivery of a 12.000-tonne Akula-II class nuclear-powered attack submarine on a 10-year lease from Russia.
The idea of constructing a nuclear submarine was conceived in the 1970s, but it was only in the following decade that the 2,9 billion US dollar Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project came into being.
The ATV project was top secret. Successive governments denied that India was building a nuclear submarine. It was only some months ago that the first official admission came out.
