India’s first indigenous nuclear submarine may not ensure deterrence, to be available for patrol for one-fifth of lifespan.
India’s first indigenous nuclear submarine, INS Arihant (S2),
which made its first foray into the sea on Monday for mandatory trials
ahead of induction into the Navy, may in effect be a limited utility
submarine, if not just a technology demonstrator.
The ballistic missile nuclear submarine (SSBN), said to add the third
dimension of the nuclear triad by giving India the vital survivable
second-strike capability, falls short of ensuring credible minimum
deterrence, sources said.
Worse, the capacity of the reactor suggests that Arihant will
hardly be available for operational patrol even for one-fifth of its
lifespan, having to spend great amounts of time on transit to patrol
areas.
“The effective fuel inventory of the submarine reactor is insufficient
for longer duration deployment of the vessel far away from Indian
shores, as it will necessitate frequent fuel changes that are
time-consuming,” said a Navy veteran, who was previously associated with
the project.
Fuel change in a submarine reactor, he said is a protracted and
cumbersome process requiring the hull of the submarine to be cut open.
The nuclear attack submarine (SSN) that India operates on a 10-year
lease from Russia, INS Chakra (S1), for instance, is said to have reactor with a longer effective core life, granting it more time on patrol.”
The Arihant project — the first of the three SSBNs built by India
under its ATV [Advanced Technology Vessel] programme under the
supervision the Prime Minister’s Office and involving agencies and
establishments such as the DRDO, the Department of Atomic Energy, the
Submarine Design Group of the Directorate of Naval Design, besides
companies such as L&T — had been under wraps for decades until its
high-voltage launch in 2009.
The 83-MW uranium reactor, developed by the Bhabha Atomic Research
Centre (BARC) with generous support from Russia, went critical in August
last year. The submarine should have entered service in 2012, as
originally planned. As the sea-acceptance trials that have just begun
are slated to take at least nine months if everything goes as planned
and without hiccups, Arihant will at best be inducted in 2016.
“This is our first home-made submarine reactor, so the Nuclear Safety
Regulatory Authority was cautious in its approach and didn’t want to
give the go-ahead for sea trials without a thorough check,” said an
official explaining the delay.
The submarine arm of the Navy had previously expressed its reservations
over the long “turnaround time” and frequent “fuel change cycles” of the
Arihant class of submarines.
Official sources told The Hindu that the sea-acceptance trials
would last at least nine months, if not more. “As the submarine with its
onboard crew has to remain submerged for about 90 days at a stretch
during deployments, there will be a lot of environment checks carried
out during the sea trials.”
Meanwhile, work on the second Arihant-class submarine, INS Aridhaman (S3), is already behind schedule and nowhere near launch.
Arihant is said to have been built at a cost of $2.9 billion.
“But that is not the unit cost of the submarine. The material cost
apart, it includes the money spent on setting up facilities such as the
submarine reactor complex in Kalpakkam, the Defence Machinery and Design
Establishment in Hyderabad and the Ship Building Centre in Vizag.
However, to amortise the amount, India should be building a series of
nuclear submarines,” a source said.
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