INS Arighat remains a formidable strategic asset in India’s nuclear triad

by Arvind Kumar

Though India is still determined and feels strongly that its national security interests can best be served in a nuclear weapon free world, but the evolving geopolitical dynamics is such where it needs to focus on its defence preparedness. After Pokhran-II, the onus on India had increased and when it formalized its nuclear doctrine in 2003, it clearly enunciated a set of principles on which the future course of action could be based. India proposed “No-first Use” as a major pillar of its nuclear doctrine. It means India will not be the first one to use nuclear weapons against nuclear weapon states and also emphasized on how its non-use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states will remain important in its declaration. India’s nuclear doctrine also talks about achieving “triad” capability, meaning it will acquire all the three legs—land based, air based and sea based assets for enhancing its nuclear deterrent capability.

It must be emphasised that to complement India’s no-first use doctrine, it needed a strong and robust sea based nuclear deterrent. In the case of any eventuality, both land based and sea based assets remain highly vulnerable. It is, perhaps, a credible sea based capability that can only provide second strike capability. In this context, India’s intensification of acquiring nuclear powered submarine began though the project under the umbrella “Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV)” started much earlier during the early part of the 1980s. The augmentation of India’s efforts in achieving credible sea based deterrent capability happened mainly after Pokhran-II.

The commissioning of INS Arighat, which is India’s second nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine has been a culmination of the nation’s commitment and dedication to the maintenance of its deterrent capability. Its predecessor INS Arihant was inducted in 2016 and is armed with 750 km range of Sagarika (K 15) Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM). Seeing the emerging dynamics of geopolitics in India’s neighbourhood, this certainly was not enough and hence India had to move ahead in acquiring a better version of nuclear powered submarine in addition to a longer range SLBM.

In terms of dimension and the reactor, both the INS Arihant and INS Arighat have similarities except that there have been significant improvements in the technology. There are indigenously developed technological upgrades and hence India has shown to the world that it can achieve without any support and cooperation from any country in the world.

The maritime dimension of India’s national security has always been an issue because of China’s increasing penetration in the Indian Ocean and its aggressive posturing in the Indo-Pacific region. China has also been attempting to alter the status quo in the maritime domain. Forty percent of Indian Ocean waters is under India’s ambit. India’s interest needs to get protected and maximized. Undoubtedly, India’s commissioning of INS Arighat will help bolster its maritime security and will also help achieve deterrent capabilities in the Indo Pacific Region (IPR). The IPR has been confronting a number of challenges with regard to stability in the region. The nations in South-east and South Pacific as well as Indian Ocean Littorals all are eying India for protecting their interests from highly intimidating China.

India needed to enhance its maritime capabilities in addition to its strengthening of triad capability with a focus on sea based assets. INS Arighat remains a formidable strategic asset in India’s nuclear triad. The significant contribution which INS Arighat will make for protecting India’s interests in the Indo Pacific is that it has patrol capabilities. The geopolitical dynamics in the IPR warranted India to have a robust and credible sea based nuclear deterrent. This development in India has also to be analysed in the context of China’s naval capabilities. China currently has six operational Jin class (Type 094)ballistic missile submarines. China has also been equipping its nuclear powered ballistic missile submarines with advanced JL-3 SLBMs. It seems JL-3 has an estimated range of more than 10,000 km and having the capability to deliver multiple nuclear warheads.

On the other hand, India’s INS Arighat has four launch tubes in its hump. It has the capability to carry up to 12 K-15 Sagarika SLBM each, with a range of 750 km, or four K-4 SLBMs with a range of 3,500 km. This technological advancement is all indigenous. Strategically, India does not want to compete with China because China’s aspirations are different. What India requires is to just deter and guard China. China has been building more advanced nuclear powered submarines mainly to assert its dominance in the South China Sea and beyond. India has been working on its third nuclear powered submarine, INS Aridhaman, mainly to boost its deterrent capabilities and protect its maritime interests. Although India’s fleet seems to be smaller but the technological sophistication of its submarines—whether it is INS Arihant or INS Arighat—is unparalleled. Through these developments, India will emerge as a formidable player in the Indo-Pacific and help protect interests of all in making the region highly stable despite China’s aggressive posturing.

Dr Arvind Kumar is Professor at School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi