a brief statement by Ministry of Defence The identified submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test-fired from the 6,000-tonne INS Arihant, which became fully operational in 2018. Bay of Bengal on Friday afternoon.
However, sources told TOI that the SLBM tested was a B-O5 or K-15 missile with a range of 750 km. “INS Arihant is equipped with short-range K-15 missiles. The developmental testing of the K-4 SLBM (with a range of 3,500 km) has been completed but it is yet to be fully inducted,” said a source.
This is the first time the government has announced the launch of an SLBM from INS Arihant. This comes at a time when India and China have more than 50,000 troops, backed by heavy-duty weapon systems, against each other along the border in eastern Ladakh, where the military confrontation is now in 30. month.
The world is also watching with bated breath the ongoing Russo-Ukraine war, where the threat of the use of nuclear weapons is considered the most serious since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
The MoD, on its part, said, “The SLBM was tested to a predetermined extent and hit the target area in the Bay of Bengal with very high accuracy. All operational and technical parameters of the weapon system have been validated.
“Successful user training of the SLBM by INS Arihant is critical to proving and validating the competency of the launch crew ssbn (Navy language for nuclear-powered submarines equipped with nuclear-powered ballistic missiles) program is a key element of India’s nuclear deterrence. In keeping with India’s policy of ‘credible minimum deterrence’, it has a strong, survivable and assured deterrence capability, underscoring its commitment to ‘no first use’, the statement said.
INS Arihant gives some teeth to the weakest leg of India’s current nuclear all three – Ability to launch nuclear warheads from land, air and sea – but much larger SSBNs that can carry long-range missiles are needed to make them more reliable.
The other two legs of the triad are, of course, much stronger with the inclusion of the land-based Agni range of ballistic missiles as well as fighters such as the Sukhoi-30MKI, Mirage-2000 and Rafale that are capable of dropping nuclear gravity bombs. Huh. ,
Under the Rs 90,000-crore top-secret Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project, India is currently building three more SSBNs to follow INS Arihant, powered by an 83 MW pressurized light-water reactor at its core. is operated.
Second such submarine, INS Arighat, is expected to be fully operational next year after some delay. The vessel will be followed by two SSBNs of 7,000 tonnes, currently referred to as S-4 and S-4* under the ATV project. There are also plans to build 13,500 tonnes of SSBNs with 190 MW more powerful reactors.
Concurrently, the K-4 SLBM is to be followed by the K-5 and K-6 missiles in the 5,000 to 6,000 km class. All this will certainly narrow the gap with countries like the US, Russia and China, which have very large SSBNs with missiles of more than 5,000 km range.
More capable SSBNs will give greater credibility to India’s defense posture as they are considered the most secure, live and powerful platform for counter-attacks after a surprise first strike by an adversary.