SSBN Arihant to be commissioned in 2 years: Navy chief

The Indian Navy will commission its first nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine, the INS Arihant in two years.

"Work is going on apace. We will put it through sea trials. The timeframes will be done and closely monitored," said navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma on Wednesday. He said the submarine would come equipped with its complement of ballistic missiles.

The Arihant was launched at the Shipbuilding Centre in Visakhapatnam on July 26 this year. The chief hoped that the government would not let the huge investments in nuclear submarine building wither away after the submarines were commissioned.

Admiral Verma refused to comment on the Nerpa, the Akula-2 class nuclear powered submarine which is being acquired from Russia on a ten year lease. The Nerpa, which is to be renamed the Chakra, is currently on its final leg of sea trials off Vladivostok and has a small complement of naval officials embarked on board. Naval officials said that the submarine would be ready for commissioning early next year.(Original News)

Key Data:

Crew

95

Dimensions:

Length

110m

Beam

11m

Draught

9m

Performance:

Maximum Surface Speed

15kt

Maximum Dived Speed

24kt

Diving Depth

300m

Systems:

K-15 Missiles

12

Torpedoes

6 × 21in torpedo tubes

Sonar

Ushus and Panchendriya

Propulsion:

Type

Nuclear, pressurised water reactor

Steam Turbine

1 × 47,000hp

Single Propeller

Seven-bladed high-skew propeller