Arihant-class submarine
Class overview | |
---|---|
Name: | Arihant |
Builders: | Navy Shipbuilding Centre, Visakhapatnam[1] |
Operators: |
|
Cost: | ₹4,000 crore (US$560 million) per submarine[2] |
In commission: | 2016 |
Planned: | 4 |
Building: | 3[3] |
Active: | 1[4] |
General characteristics | |
Type: | Nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine |
Displacement: | 6,000 tonnes (5,900 long tons; 6,600 short tons) surfaced[5] |
Length: | 112 m (367 ft)[5] |
Beam: | 11 m (36 ft) |
Draft: | 10 m (33 ft) |
Installed power: |
|
Propulsion: | |
Speed: |
|
Range: | unlimited except by food supplies |
Test depth: | 300 m (980 ft) |
Complement: | 95 |
Sensors and processing systems: | USHUS sonar |
Armament: |
Missiles: 12 × K15 SLBM (750–1900 km or 405–1026 mi range) or 4 × K-4 SLBM (3500 km or 1890 mi range)[6] Torpedoes: 6 × 21" (533 mm) torpedo tubes – est 30 charges (torpedoes, cruise missiles or mines)[7] |
The Arihant class (Sanskrit, for Slayer of Enemies) is a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines being built for the Indian Navy. They were developed under the US$2.9 billion Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project to design and build nuclear-powered submarines.
The lead vessel of the class, INS Arihant was launched in 2009 and after extensive sea trials, was confirmed to be commissioned in August 2016.[8][9][10] Arihant is the first ballistic missile submarine to have been built by a country other than one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.[11]
History
In December 1971, during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, the US President Richard Nixon sent a carrier battle group named Task Force 74, led by the nuclear-powered USS Enterprise into the Bay of Bengal in an attempt to intimidate India.[12][13] In response, the Soviet Union sent a submarine armed with nuclear missiles from Vladivostok to trail the US task force.[14] The event demonstrated the significance of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile submarines to then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.[15] Following the 1974 Smiling Buddha nuclear test, the Director of Marine Engineering (DME) at Naval Headquarters initiated a technical feasibility study for an indigenous nuclear propulsion system (Project 932).[16]
The Indian Navy's Advanced Technology Vessel project to design and construct a nuclear submarine took shape in the 1990s.[17] Then Defence Minister George Fernandes confirmed the project in 1998.[18] The initial intent of the project was to design nuclear-powered fast attack submarines, though following nuclear tests conducted by India in 1998 at Pokhran Test Range and the Indian pledge of no first use, the project was re-aligned towards the design of a ballistic missile submarine in order to complete India's nuclear triad.[19][20][21]
Description
The Arihant-class submarines are nuclear powered ballistic missile submarines built under the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project.[22][23][24][25][26][27] They will be the first nuclear submarines designed and built by India.[28] The submarines are 112 m (367 ft) long with a beam of 11 m (36 ft), a draught of 10 m (33 ft), displacement of 6,000 tonnes (5,900 long tons; 6,600 short tons) and a diving depth of 300 m (980 ft). The complement is about 95, including officers and sailors.[29] The boats are powered by a single seven blade propeller powered by an 83 MW (111,000 hp) pressurised water reactor and can achieve a maximum speed of 12–15 knots (22–28 km/h) when surfaced and 24 knots (44 km/h) when submerged.[29]
The submarines have four launch tubes in their hump and can carry up to 12 K-15 Sagarika missiles with one warhead each (with a range of 750 km or 470 mi) or 4 K-4 missiles (with a range of 3,500 km or 2,200 mi).[30][31] The submarines are similar to the Akula-class submarine of Russia.[29] The Indian Navy will train on INS Chakra, an Akula-class submarine leased from Russia in 2012.[32][33]
Development
The submarines are powered by a pressurised water reactor with highly enriched uranium fuel.[34][35] The miniaturized version of the reactor was designed and built by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) in Kalpakkam.[36] It included a 42-metre (138 ft) section of the submarine's pressure hull containing the shielding tank with water and the reactor, a control room, as well as an auxiliary control room for monitoring safety parameters.[37] The prototype reactor became critical on 11 November 2003 and was declared operational on 22 September 2006.[15] Successful operation of the prototype for three years enabled the production version of the reactor for Arihant.[38][39] The reactor subsystems were tested at the Machinery Test Center in Visakhapatnam.[40] Facilities for loading and replacing the fuel cores of the naval reactors in berthed submarines were also established.[15]
The detailed engineering of the design was implemented at Larsen & Toubro's submarine design centre at their Hazira shipbuilding facility.[41] Tata Power SED built the control systems for the submarine.[42] The steam turbines and associated systems integrated with the reactor were supplied by Walchandnagar Industries.[43] The lead vessel underwent a long and extensive process of testing after its launch in July 2009.[44] The propulsion and power systems were tested with high-pressure steam trials followed by harbor-acceptance trials that included submersion tests by flooding its ballast tanks and controlled dives to limited depths.[45] INS Arihant's reactor went critical for the first time on 10 August 2013.[46] On 13 December 2014, the submarine set off for its extensive sea trials.[47][48]
Ships in class
Exact number of planned submarines remains unclear, according to media reports about three to six submarines are planned to be built.[49][50][51][52][53][54][55] The first boat of the class, INS Arihant, was commissioned in August 2016.[8][56] The first four vessels are expected to be commissioned by 2023.[6] In December 2014, the work on a second nuclear reactor began and the second boat, INS Arighat is being prepared for sea trials.[2] The next three ships in the class, after the lead ship, will be larger and have 8 missile launch tubes to carry up to 8 K4 and a more powerful pressurized water reactor than INS Arihant. A larger follow on class to the arihant class is also planned, these new boats will be capable of carrying 12 to 16 ballistic missiles.[57][58] The first submarine was commissioned into the Indian Navy in August 2016. [59]
Name | Pennant | Laid down | Launch | Sea Trials | Commission | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fleet I | ||||||
INS Arihant | S 73 / S2[58][60] | 1997[61] | 26 July 2009 | 13 December 2014 [62] | August 2016 | In service[9] |
Fleet II | ||||||
INS Arighat | S3[8][2] | 2010[61] | 19 November 2017[63][64] | Late Nov 2017[2] | Late 2018[61] | Outfitting[6][65][61] |
tbd | S4[58] | Late 2018[63] | Under construction[66] | |||
tbd | S4*[58] | Under construction |
Timeline
Date | Event |
19 May 1998 | Confirmation of ATV project by the then Defence Minister George Fernandes |
11 November 2003 | Prototype nuclear reactor becomes critical |
22 September 2006 | Nuclear reactor is declared operational |
26 July 2009 | Lead vessel of the class, INS Arihant, is formally launched |
10 August 2013 | Arihant's on-board nuclear reactor attains criticality |
13 December 2014 | INS Arihant begins extensive sea & weapons trials |
25 November 2015 | INS Arihant successfully test-fired dummy B5 missile |
31 March 2016 | INS Arihant successfully test-fired K4 missile |
August 2016 | INS Arihant commissioned.[8] |
19 Nov 2017 | INS Arighat launched[2] |
Early 2018 | INS Arighat to begin sea trials[61] |
2019 | INS Arighat to be delivered.[8][61] |
See also
References
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External links
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