India’s first nuclear submarine — INS Arihant — completes milestone mission to establish country’s nuclear triad

• India’s indigenous nuclear submarine completed its first ‘deterrence petrol’ establishing that the country has an operational nuclear triad.
  
• In fact, submarines are the most efficient and ‘difficult to detect’ part of a nuclear triad.
  
• India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, specified that the submarine is ‘a fitting response to those who indulge in nuclear blackmail’.

INS Arihant, also called the ‘Slayer of enemies’, just completed its ‘deterrence petrol’ successfully, establishing India’s nuclear triad. This means India can now launch nuclear missiles from land, drop nuclear bombs from aircrafts and has a submarine capable of delivering nuclear payloads.

The country’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, met the crew of India’s indigenous submarine to express the importance of INS Arihant in strengthening the country’s national security.


That being said, India follows a policy nuclear policy of ‘no first use’ and ‘minimum credible deterrence’. This means that it won’t attack, until and unless, its attacked first.


Friend or foe?

The completion of INS Arihant’s ‘deterrence patrol’ is not only significant since it completes India’s nuclear triad, but also because nuclear-powered submarines are least likely to get discovered and can stay hidden for months on end.

While Modi didn’t specify what he meant by the submarine being ‘a fitting response to those who indulge in nuclear blackmail’, it could be a message for Pakistan who’s on the fast-track to enhance its nuclear arsenal and emerge as the world’s 5th largest nuclear weapons state.

Even China’s growing presence in the Indian Ocean has been a cause of concern for India’s defences.

When comparing India’s nuclear capabilities to the rest of the world, it still has a long way to go. While the United States has over 70 nuclear submarines in its war chest, Russia has approximately 30. Even China has 5 nuclear submarines along with 51 conventional u-boats.

US, Russia and China’s missiles also have ranges that extend beyond 5,000 kms whereas INS Arihant is only capable of 750 km or 3,500km.

(Picture Credit : twitter/@narendramodi)