India proposes a fleet of four.
The Indian Navy would then achieve 'true second-strike capability', allowing one submarine to remain on patrol at all times while others undergo maintenance, transit, or serve as reserve vessels.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hinted at the launch of INS Aridaman, India's third indigenously built nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine.
Aridhaman is the third of India's highly classified project to build and operate nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs). Its formal commission will follow in the footsteps of its predecessors, INS Arihant (commissioned in 2016) and INS Arighaat (commissioned in August 2024).
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday hinted at the launch of INS Aridhaman, India's third indigenously built nuclear-powered submarine. In a cryptic post on X, Rajnath Singh said, "It's not just a word, it's a symbol of power. 'Aridhaman'!"
Equipped with the ability to fire nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles, INS Aridhaman is expected to bolster India’s sea-based nuclear deterrence, enhancing both strike potential and survivability in line with the country’s nuclear doctrine.
India, along with China, is one of only two nuclear powers to explicitly say it will never be the first to launch a nuclear weapon.
This 'No First Use' (NFU) policy, enshrined in a doctrine adopted in 2003, comes with an unambiguous warning:
--- any use of a nuclear weapon against India would see the aggressor suffer "massive" and "unacceptable" damage.
India is believed to have already carried out a test of the K-4 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).
While the government has maintained its customary silence, the test marks steady progress in India's strategic deterrence and its ability to ensure a second strike.
This was the second test launch of the 3,500-km range missile from a submarine. The first launch is believed to have taken place in late 2024. It remains unknown which submarine carried out which launch -- India currently has two operational nuclear subs, INS Arihant and INS Arighaat, with two more undergoing sea trials. Both launches remain formally unacknowledged, in keeping with India's tradition of staying mum about its nuclear weapons.
As an upgraded variant, INS Aridhaman features a larger hull and double the missile capacity of its predecessors, enhancing India's survivable "second-strike" nuclear deterrent capabilities.
Rajnath Singh's social media post coincides with his visit to Visakhapatnam, headquarters of the Indian Navy's Eastern Command.
Visakhapatnam also serves as both the construction hub and current home port for India’s nuclear submarine fleet.
Displacing around 7,000 tonnes, Aridhaman is slightly larger than its predecessors and features a more streamlined hull for improved stealth and acoustic performance. The submarine is powered by an upgraded 83 MW pressurised water reactor (PWR) developed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).
Unlike its predecessors, Aridhaman is equipped with eight vertical launch tubes, double the capacity of INS Arihant, enabling it to carry either eight K-4 long-range missiles with a 3,500 km range or up to 24 K-15 missiles with a 750 km range.
The induction of INS Aridhaman will allow India to maintain “continuous at-sea deterrence,” ensuring that at least one nuclear-armed submarine is on patrol at all times.
SSBNs (Ship, Submersible, Ballistic, Nuclear vessels) provide India with assured second-strike capability: even in the event of a devastating first strike on land-based silos and airbases, an SSBN lurking deep underwater can deliver a retaliatory nuclear strike, making any first strike against India suicidal for an aggressor.
Currently, India operates two SSBNs, INS Arihant and INS Arighaat, with Aridhaman poised to be the third. A fourth, still unnamed SSBN, is planned to follow soon after.
INS Arihant is the lead ship of Indian Navy's Arihant class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines.
The vessel was built under the Advanced Technology Vessel project at the Ship Building Centre in Visakhapatnam.
The submarine was launched on 26 July 2009, and after fitting out and extensive sea trials, she was commissioned in August 2016, and deployed operationally in 2018.
INS Arihant is India's first indigenously built nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), commissioned in August 2016.
The INS Arihant is a 6,000-tonne vessel powered by an 83 MW pressurized water reactor and armed with K-15 (750 km) or K-4 (3,500 km) missiles.
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