The Indian Navy is finally embarking on the journey to get nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) in its armada. After getting in-principle approval from the Indian government in 2015, the navy will now approach the government to build two nuclear-powered conventionally armed submarines.
After the lease of the Russian Akula class nuclear-powered submarine ended in 2021 and the Ukraine war delayed the lease of another submarine of the same class, the Indian Navy was left with no SSN in its fleet. Now, the Navy will seek the government’s Acceptance of Necessity (AoN), the first step towards executing ‘Project Delta’.
China’s submarine fleet consists of more than 70 submarines, including seven nuclear ballistic missile submarines (SSBN), 12 nuclear attack submarines (SSN), and more than 50 diesel attack submarines (SSKs). In contrast, most of India’s conventional submarine fleet was acquired in the 1980s and is getting old.
The nuclear-powered submarines are so critical for the Indian Navy to match the growing power of PLAN that the former has reportedly shelved its project to build a 65,000-ton Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC)-2 in favor of the SSN project.
“We are already too late in going in for SSNs, and we need at least six if we have to blunt the future PLAN power projection in the Indian Ocean. They are expensive platforms and therefore perhaps need to be built in stages, but the commitment to build six is important,” Commodore Anil Jai Singh (retired), a former Indian Navy submariner, told the EurAsian Times.
SSNs are game changers. They are powerful platforms with stealth and unlimited endurance. They can remain underwater indefinitely and operate far away from the port for long periods and at high speeds. They can move along as part of the carrier battle group. Armed with long-range missiles, they can change the shape of maritime battle.
The SSN has greater reach, endurance, and speed than the slow and short-legged diesel submarine. It can remain submerged for months, as compared to hours or days for the diesel engine-cum-battery propelled conventional boats, even one with Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP).
Once it dives into deep waters, the SSN is not only difficult to detect but has (unlike the diesel sub) enough speed to overtake or outrun most other submarines or warships if required. The classic roles of an SSN are to protect carrier battle groups and to hunt enemy SSBNs, but it is also an ideal platform for the anti-ship, land-attack, and surveillance roles.
For the indigenous SSNs, if the government’s nod comes tomorrow, it will take another 10-15 years before the first of the lot becomes combat-worthy. So, realistically speaking, the first homegrown SSN will enter the Indian Navy by 2040.
There is an ongoing debate about which platform is better—an SSN or an aircraft carrier. Commodore Singh sees the two platforms as complementary.
The SSN has greater reach, endurance, and speed than the slow and short-legged diesel submarine. It can remain submerged for months, as compared to hours or days for the diesel engine-cum-battery propelled conventional boats, even one with Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP).
Once it dives into deep waters, the SSN is not only difficult to detect but has (unlike the diesel sub) enough speed to overtake or outrun most other submarines or warships if required. The classic roles of an SSN are to protect carrier battle groups and to hunt enemy SSBNs, but it is also an ideal platform for the anti-ship, land-attack, and surveillance roles.
For the indigenous SSNs, if the government’s nod comes tomorrow, it will take another 10-15 years before the first of the lot becomes combat-worthy. So, realistically speaking, the first homegrown SSN will enter the Indian Navy by 2040.
There is an ongoing debate about which platform is better—an SSN or an aircraft carrier. Commodore Singh sees the two platforms as complementary.
“With AUKUS submarines at the approaches to the Indian Ocean and our SSNs in the Indian Ocean, the Chinese CBGs (Carrier Battle Groups) could find the going tough. But we could build them in stages. Comparing aircraft carriers with SSNs is not an apt comparison as each is a potent war-fighting platform in its own way. In fact, for a blue water Navy, aircraft carriers and SSNs complement each other,” he adds.
“With AUKUS submarines at the approaches to the Indian Ocean and our SSNs in the Indian Ocean, the Chinese CBGs (Carrier Battle Groups) could find the going tough. But we could build them in stages. Comparing aircraft carriers with SSNs is not an apt comparison as each is a potent war-fighting platform in its own way. In fact, for a blue water Navy, aircraft carriers and SSNs complement each other,” he adds.
The US and UK plan to double their SSN fleets over the next two decades and help Australia beef up its attack submarine muscle to counter China’s rising influence in the Indo-Pacific. AUKUS aims to exploit a critical vulnerability in the Chinese Navy—its weak anti-submarine warfare capabilities.
Nuclear Sharks – An Expensive Proposition Or Security Necessity
SSNs are an “expensive” proposition. The Indian Navy has gained invaluable experience maintaining and operating nuclear-powered submarines through the leased Russian Akula class submarines.
It is evident from how India deployed its only Russian Akula class submarine, rechristened as INS Chakra, on the eastern side of the Indian Ocean during one of the many border standoffs with China in the past decade.
According to reports, INS Chakra slipped out of the Visakhapatnam harbor on the eastern seaboard of India and disappeared for over a month after diving into the Bay of Bengal.
Her deployment to the East was a well-kept secret. It demonstrated India’s ability to carry out maritime strikes in response to land aggression.
India has designed and developed nuclear-powered ballistic attack submarines (SSBNs) – INS Arihant and INS Arighat, with the help of Russians. This has given them the expertise to miniaturize the nuclear reactor to fit into a submarine. Arihant is powered by an 83 MW reactor manufactured by the BARC.
