India inducts nuke sub into navy

N C Bipindra
Vishakapatnam, July 26 (PTI) India on Sunday crossed a
crucial naval milestone with the induction of its first
indigenously-built nuclear-powered submarine 'INS Arihant' as
Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh made it clear that the
country does not have any aggressive designs but has to take
all measures to safeguard itself.
He said the sea is increasingly becoming relevant in
the context of India's security interest and "we must readjust
our military preparedness to this changing environment. Our
navy has a huge responsibility in this regard".
In a symbolic launching ceremony, his wife Gursharan
Kaur broke a coconut on the hull of the submarine at its
secret naval base 'Matsya' dockyard here, taking India into an
elite club of nations that have indigenously-built
nuclear-powered submarines.
After a brief puja, with the Prime Minister, Union
Defence Minister A K Antony, Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta
and Chief Minister of India's southern state of Andhra
Pradesh, Y S Rajasekhara Reddy by her side, Kaur unveiled a
plaque naming the 112-metre-long submarine.
"I name it INS Arihant (destroyer of the enemy. All
the best to the submarine," she said announcing to the world
the completion of India's nuclear triad, the capability to
launch nuclear-tipped missiles from land, water and sea.
Declaring that India has achieved a "historic
milestone in the country's defence preparedness", the Prime
Minister said, "We do not have any aggressive designs nor do
we seek to threaten anyone. We seek an external environment in
our region and beyond that is conducive to our peaceful
development and protection of our value systems".
With Sunday's induction, India has made its entry into
an elite club of nations comprising the US, Russia, France,
the UK and China which possess capabilities to develop nuclear
submarine.
"Today, we join a select group of five nations who
possess capacity to build a nuclear-powered submarine," the
Prime Minister noted.
Code-named Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV), Arihant
will carry 'Sagarika' (K-15) missile that has a range of 700
kms.
As India has declared "no first use" of nuclear
weapons, the country's weapons system must survive a first
strike for retaliation. Therefore, Arihant's primary weapon is
stealth as it can lurk in ocean depths of half a kilometre or
more and fire its missiles from under the sea.

The Prime Minister said "nevertheless, it is incumbent
upon us to take all measures necessary to safeguard our
country and to keep pace with technological advancements
worldwide.It has rightly been said that eternal vigilance is
the price of liberty."

He said the government was fully committed to ensuring
the defence of national interests and protection of
territorial integrity.

"We will continue to render all support to the
constant modernisation of our armed forces and to ensuring
that they remain at the cutting edge of technology," he said.

The Prime Minister congratulated the ATV programme and
all personnel associated with it for achieving a historic
milestone in the country's defence preparedness.

"Today's launch is a reflection of the immense
technical expertise that exists in our country and the
strength of our research and development organisations.

"More importantly, the launch represents the
determination and patriotism of our technologists, scientists
and defence personnel who have overcome several hurdles and
barriers to enable the country to acquire self reliance in the
most advanced areas of defence technology," he said.

Noting that the submarine is the outcome of a
productive public-private enterprise in the country, he
expressed his appreciation to "our Russian friends" for their
consistent and invaluable cooperation which symbolise the
strategic partnership between the two countries.

Four more nuclear-powered submarine of this class have
already got government's nod and these would add to the Navy's
underwater combat potential in the years to come.

Sea trials of the submarine will be conducted in the
Bay of Bengal off Andhra's port city of Vishakapatnam, where
the vessel was under construction for the last two decades.

The Rs 30,000-crore secret nuclear submarine project
was started in the 1980s though it was conceived by then Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi in the 1970s.

The first official admission of the project nearing
completion came this February when Antony had announced it
during the AeroIndia show in Bangalore.

Antony, referring to India's non aggression and
no-first-use nuclear policy, said the situation in the region
had necessitated the need for a credible second-strike
capability.

Mehta said the launch of 'INS Arihant' was the "first
visible step towards realisation of the third leg of the
nuclear triad. It will help navy to decisively influence
events in a wide geographical area and counter all spectrum of
conflict".

ATV Programme Director General Vice Admiral (retd) DSP
Verma said 'INS Arihant' provided India a sea-based strategic
capability, and thanked the private companies such as Larsen
and Toubro and Mulchand Industries, apart from Department of
Atomic Energy and the Atomic Energy Commission (its chief Anil
Kakodkar was present) for the help it rendered in building and
testing the pressurised water reactors for the submarine.

India has land-based nuclear-capable Agni ballistic
missiles, apart from IAF fighters such as Mirage-2000 that can
deliver tactical nukes.

Two decades ago, India had operated a Charlie-class
nuclear submarine, christened INS Chakra, leased from Russia
for three years between 1989 and 1991.

Moscow will again lease out two Akula-class nuclear
submarines to New Delhi for 10 years. Plans to deliver the
submarines this June were hit by a mishap during sea trials
late last year. But hopes have soared for its delivery in 2010
after Russia took out the repaired vessel for sea trials again
early this month. PTI NCB
SDE
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