ARIHANT

July 19, 2009 - India's first nuclear powered submarine will at best be a technology demonstrator and test bed for developing operational nuclear capabilities.Not much is known for sure about the submarine developed under the super secretive Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) at this point of time, but the rough picture that emerges is of a 7,000 ton submarine powered by a 80MW PWR using enriched uranium. Current Indian submarine building expertise is based on the two German HDW 209 1500 submarines – INS Shalki and INS Shankul - that it built in the late eighties to early nineties.India does not have any submarine design experience let alone for a 7,000 ton class boat.It is likely Arihant is based on the Russian Charlie II submarine that India got to study when it leased INS Chakra for three years from 1988-91.Arihant likely incorporates a lot of advancements in propulsion, noise suppression, command and control, communication and sonar that the Russians learnt since they built the Charlie II subs, as well as what the Indians learnt while building the HDW boats.Unofficial illustrations of the boat show elements of Akula design like the towed sonar at the aft. However, Arihant is unlikely to be based on the Akula II or the more modern Graney class Russian subs, as reported in some sections of the press, since these subs use a twin hull design and are therefore considerably heavier.It is likely India has sourced components like propellers and shafts from Russia for the boat to minimize risks.The stress must have been to build a safe nuclear propulsion unit and adding ballistic missile launching capability to the submarine.Officially, India has consistently linked its ATV project to the need for a sea based credible nuclear deterrent. It can be assumed the ATV will carry nuclear capable missiles. It is not an SSN but an SSBN.The ATV is reportedly equipped with 4 launch tubes of 2.4m diameter each. Initially, each missile tube will likely accommodate 3 0.74m diameter K-15 Sagarika missile. Later the tubes could accommodate the 2.0m diameter Agni IIISL (The submarine launched version of the Agni V / Agni 3+) missiles with MIRV capability.Once Arihant's nuclear propulsion is proven the stress will shift to weapon testing.The Sagarika's limited range of 700km makes it inadequate even as a deterrent against Pakistan, let alone China.Hopefully, DRDO will be ready with the Agni IIISL within a year or two. It is likely that followup nuclear subs will accommodate more sections to carry at least 12 launch tubes.Followup Arihant class subs will represent a credible nuclear deterrent only when they are fielded with at least 12 Agni IIISL missiles capable of striking targets in most of China from within Indian coastal waters.It could well be another 10 years before that capability is reached.The ATV project appears to be well conceived and carefully calibrated. It has a good chance of succeeding despite past delay. Indian nuclear and missile technology is well developed and reasonably advanced, though DRDO's past record has not always been stellar.