India has quietly launched its fourth nuclear-powered ballistic missile (SSBN) submarine at Ship Building Center (SBC) in Visakhapatnam this week to strengthen its nuclear deterrence against its adversaries, Indian media reported on Tuesday.
While India’s second SSBN INS Arighaat was commissioned by Defence Minister Rajnath Sindh on August 29, 2024, the third SSBN INS Aridhaman will be commissioned next year. On October 9, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) cleared the Indian Navy’s plans for the construction of two nuclear-powered attack submarines to deter any adversaries in the Indo-Pacific.
Although the Modi government is tight-lipped on nuclear deterrence, the fourth SSBN, codenamed S4*, was launched on October 16, a day after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the Very Low-Frequency Naval Station in Damagundam forest area of Vikarabad district in Telangana for command, control, and communications with strategic assets of the Indian Navy, the report added.
The newly-launched S4* SSBN has nearly 75% indigenous content and is equipped only with 3,500km range K-4 nuclear ballistic missiles, which can be fired through vertical launching systems.
While the first of its class INS Arihant carries 750 km range K-15 nuclear missiles, its successors are all upgrades of the previous ones and carry only K-4 ballistic missiles.
With unlimited range and endurance, the SSBN is constrained only by food supplies, crew fatigue, and maintenance. Both INS Arihant and INS Arighaat are already on deep-sea patrols and a nuclear-powered attack submarine of the Russian Akula class is set to join the force on lease in 2028.
