INS ARIHANT

अरिहंत (SLAYER OF ENEMIES).......

INS ARIHANT is India's first indigenously developed nuclear powered submarine. With this India has become 6th nation in the world to construct a submarine that uses the radioactive material as fuel. It is currently under sea-trials in Bay Of Bengal and is expected to join the force in February, 2016 during the International Fleet Review.

Launched on 26th July, 2009 on the anniversary of KARGIL Vijay Diwas, the vessel has a length of 111 meters and draft of 11 meters. It has a displacement of 6,000 tonnes and is powered by a 83 MW nuclear reactor. Reactor is a pressurized light-water reactor and uses enriched uranium as fuel. Reactor went critical in 2013. ARIHANT has a crew size of 100.

Nuclear powered submarines are a very important part of a country's defense as these vessels can stay under water for a very very long time. They have an infinite range(except the food supplies). They can roam near the enemy territory without getting noticed and can launch the strike at a short notice.

Developing a nuclear submarine indigenously was very crucial for Indian Navy, in its aim to mark itself as a blue water navy. Besides ARIHANT, we also have INS CHAKRA, as a nuclear powered submarine which has been leased from RUSSIA for a period of 10 years. At the end of this year, during the visit of PM Narendra Modi to Russia, a contract will be signed to lease another nuclear powered submarine. The contract was finalised in the ongoing Russian visit of our Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar. 

Induction of INS ARIHANT  will increase the force of our navy many-fold. 

My next article is going to be on INS VIKRAMADITYA. Don't miss that out....

""JAI HIND""   

INS KALVARI (S-50)

INS KALVARI is the first of the Indian Navy's six Kalvari class submarines being built in India under PROJECT 75 at Mazagon Docks Limited (MDL), in Mumbai, under license from DCNS. The work on vessel started in  April, 2009 and now is currently under sea trials. The vessel was floated out in the sea for trials after a ceremony in presence of our Defense Minister Mr. Manohar Parrikar. If all goes well, the the trials will get over in September, 2016 and then the ship will be commissioned into the navy.   

Project 75 is a $3.6 billion submarine construction programme at MDL under license from French firm DCNS. Under this project, six scorpeon class diesel electric attack submarines will be constructed, among which 4 would be conventional submarines while the remaining 2 are to be equipped with Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system, which enables the vessel to stay under water for long time.

With a length of 61.7 meters and a draught of 5.4 meters, the submarine has a displacement of 1565 tonnes. It can achieve a speed of 37 km/h in deep water and has a range of 12,000 km. It has superior stealth technology. It has been designed to achieve a depth of 310 meters under sea. The main arnament of the submarine is 6x533 mm torpedo tubes for 18 heavy-weight torpedoes. Besides this, the vessel can also carry 39 anti-ship missiles or 30 mines in place of torpedoes.

Indian Navy is in full swing to mark itself as a blue-water navy. Induction of INS CHAKRA (nuclear powered submarine) and INS  VIKRAMADITYA (aircraft carier) have helped the cause a lot. Besides this, the induction of KOLKATA class destroyers is also a major boost to the navy. Many other vessels like INS ARIHANT and INS VIKRANT are also to be commissioned in the near future.

My next article is going to be on INS ARIHANT. Don't miss that out.

""JAI HIND""  

BRAHMOS ON SU-30 MKI

Do you all remember the opening jodi of our beloved Viru and Sachin...??? None of the bowling attacks in the world has been spared by them.... 

Mighty Sukhoi-30 MKI armed with the deadly BRAHMOS cruise missile(nuclear capable) is going to be exactly the same deadly combination. Individually, both Su-30 and BRAHMOS are powerful and reliable weapons. But when the world's most capable fourth generation fighter is armed with the world's best and fastest cruise missile, the combo is going to be a dramatic force multiplier.  

In March 2015, the Strategic Forces Command(SFC) received the first 42 Sukhois armed with air launched version of BRAHMOS.  The tests are supposed to be done within next one year.

First test will be a dead weight launch, while the second will be a dummy missile launch. The next two launches will be of the actual missile.

This is the first time in the world that such a heavy supersonic cruise missile(3000 kg) is being integrated on a fighter aircraft. Now the question arises that why only Su-30 ? Obviously, SFC does not want to take any chances by installing nuclear tipped missile on untested fighters. Su 30 has a titanium air frame which enables it to fly at high altitudes at high speed.

Having a dedicated fighter jet for a nuclear attack role is very crucial as it offers strategic flexibility and increases the odds of success. Ballistic missiles are used only as a weapon of last resort and once launched, they can't be recalled. Fighter jet on the other hand can perform multiple sorties and can direct the warheads on moving targets too. For example, in case of a war with Pakistan, they will most probably move their warheads out of their current depot, then Sukhois can be directed to neutralize those warheads carrying trucks.

This is indeed some very bad news for the enemies sitting across the border......

""JAI HIND""