India is on the cusp of a major milestone in its nuclear deterrent capability, with the Indian Navy confirming that INS Aridhaman, the country\u2019s third indigenously-built nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), has entered the final phase of harbour and sea trials and is expected to be commissioned \u201cvery soon.\u201d Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi made the announcement at the annual pre-Navy Day press conference, stating that the submarine\u2019s induction will significantly strengthen India\u2019s sea-based nuclear triad at a time of growing maritime competition in the Indo-Pacific.<\/strong><\/p>\nWith the commissioning of Aridhaman\u2014designated S4 \/ SSBN 82\u2014India will, for the first time, have three operational Arihant-class SSBNs at sea: INS Arihant, INS Arighaat, and the new platform. The development marks the most substantial expansion of the country\u2019s strategic deterrent since the Arihant\u2019s entry into service in 2016.<\/p>\n
INS Aridhaman has been under construction for nearly a decade. Built at the Ship Building Centre (SBC) in Visakhapatnam under the long-running Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) programme, the submarine was quietly launched on November 21\/23, 2021 and has since undergone extensive harbour acceptance tests and sea trials.<\/p>\n
According to defence officials, the submarine completed its final reactor and weapons integration checks by mid-2025, allowing the Navy to progress to pre-commissioning evaluations this year. The commissioning timeline aligns with earlier military assessments from early 2025, which had projected the submarine\u2019s induction within the year.<\/p>\n
Aridhaman follows INS Arighaat, commissioned into the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) on August 29, 2024, after a prolonged cycle of upgrades and weapon trials.<\/p>\n
The INS Aridhaman displaces roughly 6,000 tonnes surfaced and around 7,000 tonnes submerged, placing it in the mid-weight SSBN category. The vessel carries a complement of 95\u2013100 crew, including officers and enlisted personnel trained in nuclear propulsion and submarine warfare.<\/p>\n
Power comes from an 83 MW CLWR-B1 compact light-water reactor, derived from the prototype naval reactor at Kalpakkam. This drives a single-shaft, seven-blade propeller, enabling speeds of 12\u201315 knots surfaced and around 24 knots submerged. Its endurance is limited mainly by food and crew cycles rather than fuel, supporting months-long patrols typical of strategic deterrent missions.<\/p>\n
The hull is believed to be fabricated from special low-carbon steel, with some open-source assessments indicating the use of anechoic tiles for acoustic suppression. The submarine\u2019s sensor suite includes the USHUS sonar, the Panchendriya unified sonar and tactical control system, bow and flank arrays, and a towed array sonar, collectively enabling long-range detection and tracking in the Indian Ocean\u2019s complex acoustic environment.<\/p>\n
Once commissioned, Aridhaman will be based at INS Varsha, the nuclear submarine enclave at Rambilli near Visakhapatnam, and will operate under the Strategic Forces Command as part of India\u2019s nuclear command and control framework.<\/p>\n
The submarine\u2019s defining improvement over earlier Arihant-class boats is its expanded missile payload capacity. While INS Arihant and INS Arighaat both feature four vertical launch system (VLS) tubes, INS Aridhaman incorporates eight VLS tubes, doubling the nuclear payload capacity.<\/p>\n
This configuration allows the platform to carry:<\/p>\n
Up to 24 K-15 Sagarika SLBMs (range ~750 km), or<\/p>\n
Up to 8 K-4 SLBMs (range ~3,500 km), or<\/p>\n
A future loadout of K-5 SLBMs (estimated range 5,000\u20136,000 km), currently under development.<\/p>\n
The missile options give India flexible deterrence across multiple strategic theatres. The K-15 can target most critical sites in Pakistan from coastal patrol zones, while the K-4 enables reach across the Indian Ocean Region, including areas beyond Southeast Asia. The upcoming K-5 is expected to give India a true long-range sea-based second-strike capability.<\/p>\n
Aridhaman is also equipped with six 533 mm torpedo tubes capable of firing Varunastra heavyweight torpedoes, anti-ship cruise missiles, and naval mines for local defence.<\/p>\n
Aridhaman\u2019s commissioning will be another critical step in a decades-long journey that began with the strategic dilemmas India faced during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War, when the US Navy\u2019s Task Force 74 sailed into the Bay of Bengal, trailed by a Soviet nuclear submarine. The episode underscored for Indian planners the need for an assured sea-based deterrent.<\/p>\n
Following India\u2019s first nuclear test in 1974, Project 932 examined indigenous nuclear propulsion concepts. The effort matured after the 1998 nuclear tests and India\u2019s formal adoption of a No-First-Use policy, which placed the emphasis squarely on survivable second-strike capabilities.<\/p>\n
The ATV programme, costing about \u20b9900 billion, has since overseen the development of all domestic SSBNs and accompanying infrastructure. The prototype reactor S1 at Kalpakkam reached criticality in 2003 and became operational in 2006, forming the basis of the Arihant-class propulsion system.<\/p>\n
Industrial participation is spread across major Indian firms:<\/p>\n
L&T for submarine hull and structural engineering<\/p>\n
Tata Power SED for control systems<\/p>\n
Walchandnagar Industries for steam turbines<\/p>\n
Hindustan Shipyard Ltd. for submarine assembly, upgraded in 2009 specifically for nuclear submarine work<\/p>\n
INS Arihant (S2) was laid down in 2004, launched in 2009, and inducted in 2016 after a lengthy trial programme. It completed India\u2019s first deterrence patrol in November 2018. INS Arighaat (S3), laid down in 2009 and launched in 2017, was commissioned in 2024 after upgrades and extensive weapon testing.<\/p>\n
A fourth unit, S4*, was launched on October 16, 2024, and will carry only K-4 missiles. The S4 and S4* variants are about 10 metres longer than Arihant and Arighaat, following a 2007 design revision to increase their missile load without waiting for the larger S5 class.<\/p>\n
India ultimately plans to field three larger S5-class SSBNs, each displacing around 13,500 tonnes and carrying much longer-range submarine-launched ballistic missiles. Preliminary design and internal studies are ongoing.<\/p>\n
In parallel, India has signed a $3 billion lease agreement for a new Russian-built Akula-class nuclear attack submarine (Chakra III), slated for delivery around 2028.<\/p>\n
Separately, the Project 77 indigenous SSN programme, approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security in October 2024, aims to construct six 10,000-ton nuclear attack submarines designed by the Navy\u2019s Warship Design Bureau.<\/p>\n
India\u2019s naval expansion mirrors rising security challenges in the Indo-Pacific. As of December 2024, the Navy operated over 130 warships and 251 aviation assets, with plans to reach 155\u2013160 vessels by 2030, 175\u2013200 by 2035, and up to 230 warships and submarines by 2037.<\/p>\n
By late 2025, 54 ships were under construction across Indian shipyards, with 10 slated for commissioning this year alone. The Defence Acquisition Council has cleared 74 additional warships, valued at around \u20b92.35 lakh crore ($26 billion).<\/p>\n
Aridhaman\u2019s commissioning comes amid heightened Chinese naval activity in the Indian Ocean Region, including regular deployments of PLAN submarines and survey vessels. To counter this, India has enhanced its anti-submarine warfare posture with:<\/p>\n
Kamorta and Mahe-class corvettes<\/p>\n
P-8I Poseidon long-range maritime patrol aircraft<\/p>\n
Saryu-class patrol vessels<\/p>\n
Heron-1 UAVs, among other assets<\/p>\n
Simultaneously, infrastructure upgrades are underway across the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep, creating a network of forward operating bases supporting surveillance and rapid deployment.<\/p>\n
India is also progressing multiple diesel-electric submarine programmes, including:<\/p>\n
Three more Kalvari-class submarines or a modified Type-214 design<\/p>\n
Six Project 75-I AIP-equipped submarines, based on an enlarged Type-214<\/p>\n
Twelve Project 76 AIP submarines with land-attack cruise missiles<\/p>\n
Five midget submarines for MARCOS operations<\/p>\n
Twelve Extra-Large Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (XLUUVs) worth \u20b92,500 crore<\/p>\n
The indigenous Jalkapi XLUUV, whose construction began in June 2025<\/p>\n
With INS Aridhaman set for commissioning, India\u2019s nuclear triad is entering a more resilient and distributed phase. For the first time, the country will be able to maintain continuous at-sea SSBN patrols, a critical requirement for credible minimum deterrence.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"India is on the cusp of a major milestone in its nuclear deterrent capability, with the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":80421,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[8277,8278,3022,4967,235,4070,420,1375,1058,2164],"class_list":["post-80420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia","tag-aridhaman","tag-arihantclass","tag-ballistic","tag-commission","tag-india","tag-ins","tag-missile","tag-nuclear","tag-poised","tag-submarine"],"yoast_head":"\n
India Poised to Commission INS Aridhaman, Its Third Arihant-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine - Gulf Times | News by the minute<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gulf Times: Latest news across the GCC from UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Yemen, Saudi Arabia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theasialive.com\/india-poised-to-commission-ins-aridhaman-its-third-arihant-class-nuclear-ballistic-missile-submarine\/2025\/12\/03\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"India Poised to Commission INS Aridhaman, Its Third Arihant-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gulf News| UAE's Largest News aggregator site\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theasialive.com\/india-poised-to-commission-ins-aridhaman-its-third-arihant-class-nuclear-ballistic-missile-submarine\/2025\/12\/03\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gulf Times | News by the minute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/100084981843786\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-02T18:44:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Indian-Navy-Arihant-class-nuclear-ballistic-missile-submarine.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"790\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"474\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"gulftimes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Gulftimesuae\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Gulftimesuae\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"gulftimes\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"India Poised to Commission INS Aridhaman, Its Third Arihant-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine - Gulf Times | News by the minute","description":"Gulf Times: Latest news across the GCC from UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Yemen, Saudi Arabia","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/theasialive.com\/india-poised-to-commission-ins-aridhaman-its-third-arihant-class-nuclear-ballistic-missile-submarine\/2025\/12\/03\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"India Poised to Commission INS Aridhaman, Its Third Arihant-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine","og_description":"Gulf News| UAE's Largest News aggregator site","og_url":"https:\/\/theasialive.com\/india-poised-to-commission-ins-aridhaman-its-third-arihant-class-nuclear-ballistic-missile-submarine\/2025\/12\/03\/","og_site_name":"Gulf Times | News by the minute","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/100084981843786","article_published_time":"2025-12-02T18:44:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":790,"height":474,"url":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Indian-Navy-Arihant-class-nuclear-ballistic-missile-submarine.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"gulftimes","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Gulftimesuae","twitter_site":"@Gulftimesuae","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"gulftimes","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/theasialive.com\/india-poised-to-commission-ins-aridhaman-its-third-arihant-class-nuclear-ballistic-missile-submarine\/2025\/12\/03\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/?p=80420"},"author":{"name":"gulftimes","@id":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/#\/schema\/person\/4c5b0f90aae48bb43165ee6e39ddc977"},"headline":"India Poised to Commission INS Aridhaman, Its Third Arihant-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine","datePublished":"2025-12-02T18:44:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/?p=80420"},"wordCount":1196,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/theasialive.com\/india-poised-to-commission-ins-aridhaman-its-third-arihant-class-nuclear-ballistic-missile-submarine\/2025\/12\/03\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Indian-Navy-Arihant-class-nuclear-ballistic-missile-submarine.jpg","keywords":["Aridhaman","Arihantclass","Ballistic","commission","India","INS","missile","nuclear","poised","submarine"],"articleSection":["Asia"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/theasialive.com\/india-poised-to-commission-ins-aridhaman-its-third-arihant-class-nuclear-ballistic-missile-submarine\/2025\/12\/03\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/?p=80420","url":"https:\/\/theasialive.com\/india-poised-to-commission-ins-aridhaman-its-third-arihant-class-nuclear-ballistic-missile-submarine\/2025\/12\/03\/","name":"India Poised to Commission INS Aridhaman, Its Third Arihant-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine - Gulf Times | News by the minute","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/theasialive.com\/india-poised-to-commission-ins-aridhaman-its-third-arihant-class-nuclear-ballistic-missile-submarine\/2025\/12\/03\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/theasialive.com\/india-poised-to-commission-ins-aridhaman-its-third-arihant-class-nuclear-ballistic-missile-submarine\/2025\/12\/03\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Indian-Navy-Arihant-class-nuclear-ballistic-missile-submarine.jpg","datePublished":"2025-12-02T18:44:00+00:00","description":"Gulf Times: Latest news across the GCC from UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Yemen, Saudi Arabia","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/theasialive.com\/india-poised-to-commission-ins-aridhaman-its-third-arihant-class-nuclear-ballistic-missile-submarine\/2025\/12\/03\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/theasialive.com\/india-poised-to-commission-ins-aridhaman-its-third-arihant-class-nuclear-ballistic-missile-submarine\/2025\/12\/03\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/theasialive.com\/india-poised-to-commission-ins-aridhaman-its-third-arihant-class-nuclear-ballistic-missile-submarine\/2025\/12\/03\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Indian-Navy-Arihant-class-nuclear-ballistic-missile-submarine.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Indian-Navy-Arihant-class-nuclear-ballistic-missile-submarine.jpg","width":790,"height":474},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/theasialive.com\/india-poised-to-commission-ins-aridhaman-its-third-arihant-class-nuclear-ballistic-missile-submarine\/2025\/12\/03\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"India Poised to Commission INS Aridhaman, Its Third Arihant-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/#website","url":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/","name":"Gulf Times | News by the minute","description":"Largest News Aggregator in the Gulf","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/#organization"},"alternateName":"Gulf News Aggregator","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/#organization","name":"Gulf Times","url":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"","contentUrl":"","caption":"Gulf Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/100084981843786","https:\/\/x.com\/Gulftimesuae"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/#\/schema\/person\/4c5b0f90aae48bb43165ee6e39ddc977","name":"gulftimes","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a8f9c2e07a9cd7e7e7c302c8c7ce8d5e0865a0bbcc732793d6e761588fd10b03?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a8f9c2e07a9cd7e7e7c302c8c7ce8d5e0865a0bbcc732793d6e761588fd10b03?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a8f9c2e07a9cd7e7e7c302c8c7ce8d5e0865a0bbcc732793d6e761588fd10b03?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"gulftimes"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/gulftimes.ae"],"url":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=80420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80420\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/80421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=80420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=80420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=80420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}