India to commission second nuclear submarine by end of 2024

India's second nuclear submarine, Arighat . (Janes)

India's second nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) will be commissioned in the next few months, Janes understands.

The vessel, which will be in service as INS Arighat once commissioned by end 2024, is going to be formally inducted almost seven years after it was launched.

According to Janes data, Arighat was launched in Visakhapatnam in November 2017. It has a length of 111.6 m, beam of 11 m, draught of 9.5 m, and a displacement of 6,000 tonnes.

Arighat is one of three SSBNs that have been launched by India. First-of-class INS Arihant was launched in July 2009 and commissioned in August 2016, while a third yet-to-be-named vessel was launched in November 2021.

Built at the Indian Navy's Ship Building Centre (SBC) in Vishakhapatnam, Arighat is powered by an 82.5 MW pressurised light water reactor (LWR) developed with Russian assistance. The submarine can achieve a top speed of 24 kt, and a surfaced speed of 10 kt.

The submarine is armed with 12 K-15 Sagarika submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), developed by India's state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Four large vertical launch system (VLS) tubes in the submarine carry these Sagarika SLBMs. Sagarika is a hybrid propulsion, two‐stage, solid‐propellant missile. The first stage lifts the missile to an altitude of about 4 km. The missile has a range of more than 700 km.

Arighat is built with Russian steel equivalent to US HY-80 grade. The submarine is divided into seven compartments, with main divisions for the propulsion and combat management systems, platform management centre, and the torpedo room.

Arighat also features a double hull, encompassing ballast tanks, two standby auxiliary engines, and a retractable thruster for emergency power and mobility.