MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

India launches first home built nuclear submarine

“Destroyer of enemies” can also fire missiles with nuclear heads

India formally launched its first home-built nuclear submarine on Sunday, joining a select band of five nations that have the capability to build the sophisticated weapons system. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stressed that New Delhi had no aggressive designs nor meant to threaten anyone.

India, he said, merely sought “an external environment in its region and beyond that was conducive for its peaceful development and the protection of its value systems”.

Only the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China have the capability to launch nuclear weapons from submarines. Sunday's launch also moves India closer to the nuclear triad, or the capability to deliver nuclear weapons from platforms based on land, air and sea.

Analysts stress that the sea-based deterrent is critical for India because of its policy of no-first use of nuclear weapons. Should the country's land- and air-based weapons be wiped out by an enemy first-strike, it would require submarines to launch the retaliatory second-strike.

Some observers also see it as an attempt to counter the strategic interest of China in the region. “A nuclear submarine is the ultimate weapon in the hands of the government” said strategic analyst A. K. Singh, a retired vice-admiral. “We are catching up with China very quickly and as for Pakistan, this puts us way ahead in the game”.

The Indian submarine's design is partly based on a Charlie-class nuclear submarine that Russia loaned to India two decades ago. Developed in secret as the Advance Technology Vehicle programme, the first of the submarines was named the Arihant, or Destroyer of Enemies. Developed at Vishakhapatnam, the port city and base of the Eastern Naval Command, it came to life as a 5.500 tons vessel with a capacity to launch 12 ballistic missiles.

The Arihant will probably be equipped with India's Sagarika series of missiles, which can deliver a 500kg nuclear payload to distances of between 750km and 1.000km. That would put most of Pakistan within range of submarines based in the Arabian Sea. Likewise, Indian submarines in the South China Sea will have some of China's most prosperous regions in range.

At the core of the Arihant is a miniaturised nuclear reactor that can help it stay underwater for months. Developed at a facility near Chennai, and with some aid from Russian experts, the reactor, which is the size of a minibus, is said to have a capacity of about 90MW. The submarine will be manned by a crew of about 95 men. The 100 meters long vessel, with a single shaft propulsion system, is one of the smallest in its class.

Full sea trials are at least 18 months away and will take place once the vessel is fully outfitted.