NEWS – India’s Second Nuclear-Powered Submarine INS Arighat ready for Commissioning

HIGHLIGHTS

– India’s second indigenously built nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN)

– Follows INS Arihant, commissioned in 2018

– Constructed at the Indian Navy’s Ship Building Centre (SBC) in Visakhapatnam

Features

Dimensions

    – Length: 111.6 meters

    – Beam: 11 meters

    – Draught: 9.5 meters

    – Displacement: 6,000 tonnes

Propulsion

    – One seven-blade propeller powered by a pressurized water reactor

    – Maximum speed: 12–15 knots (22–28 km/h) on surface, 24 knots (44 km/h) submerged

Armament

    – Up to four nuclear-capable K-4 SLBMs (range: over 3500 kilometers)

    – Twelve conventional warheads K-15 SLBMs (range: about 750 kilometers)

    – Torpedoes and mines

Safety Measures

    – Two standby auxiliary engines

    – Retractable thruster for emergency power and mobility

Strategic Significance

– Critical component of India’s nuclear triad

– Enables launch of nuclear missiles from land, air, and sea