INS ARIHANT's 83MW pressurized light-water reactor (PWR) fuelled with enriched uranium

A tripartite memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Indian Navy (IN), BARC and Hyderabad-based ECIL on July 10, 2023 in the presence of VADM Dinesh K Tripathi, FOC-in-C, Western Naval Command, and Dr Ajit Kumar Mohanty, Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy.

The MoU aims to facilitate indigenous development and production of 11 types of control-systems and their multifunctional display/control consoles for the navy’s projected six nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSN).

These include those used by the 90mWt Pressurised Water Nuclear Reactors (PWR). Such systems were earlier imported from Russia’s JSC Concern Avrora SPA for the S-2, S-3 and S-4 SSGNs of the navy. Trial-batches of the indigenously-developed and built control-systems will be delivered to the navy’s Hyderabad-based Defence Machinery Design Establishment (DMDE) for type-certification, following which formal procurement contracts will be inked. This step would go a long way towards furthering and augmenting self-reliance within the Indian Navy.