Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to induct indigenous nuclear Submarine, INS Aridhaman into Indian Navy

Equipped with longer-range missile capabilities, INS Aridhaman is expected to strengthen India’s sea-based nuclear deterrent by enhancing both strike capability and survivability, in line with the country’s nuclear doctrine. 

India’s indigenous nuclear Submarine INS Aridaman to be commissioned into the Indian Navy by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday also hinted at the forthcoming launch of INS Aridhaman, India’s third indigenously developed nuclear-powered submarine, in a post on X, writing: “Its not a word, its power, ‘Aridhaman’!”

Equipped with longer-range missile capabilities, INS Aridhaman is expected to strengthen India’s sea-based nuclear deterrent by enhancing both strike capability and survivability, in line with the country’s nuclear doctrine. 

INS Aridhaman has successfully concluded its final round of sea trials and is now poised to be inducted into the Strategic Forces Command, following its predecessors, INS Arihant (commissioned in 2016) and INS Arighaat (commissioned in August 2024).

The development coincides with Rajnath Singh’s visit to Visakhapatnam, the base for India’s nuclear submarine fleet, where he is scheduled to commission the indigenously built advanced stealth frigate INS Taragiri. Visakhapatnam functions as both the construction centre and the current home port for India’s SSBN fleet.

INS Aridhaman has a displacement of around 7,000 tonnes, making it slightly larger than its predecessors, and features a more streamlined hull design to enhance its stealth and acoustic performance. The submarine is powered by an upgraded 83 MW pressurised water reactor (PWR) developed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.

Unlike its predecessors, INS Aridhaman is fitted with eight vertical launch tubes—twice the capacity of INS Arihant, allowing it to carry either eight K-4 long-range missiles with a range of 3,500 km or up to 24 K-15 missiles with a range of 750 km.

Its induction is expected to enable India to sustain continuous at-sea deterrence, ensuring that at least one nuclear-armed submarine remains on patrol at all times, India Today reported. 

SSBNs (Ship, Submersible, Ballistic, Nuclear) form the backbone of India’s assured second-strike capability. Even if an adversary were to cripple land-based missile sites and airbases in a first strike, a submerged SSBN can remain undetected and launch a retaliatory nuclear response, thereby deterring any such attack by ensuring unacceptable consequences for the aggressor.

At present, India operates two SSBNs, INS Arihant and INS Arighaat, while Aridhaman is expected to join the fleet as the third. A fourth SSBN, yet to be named, is also planned to follow in the near future.