India’s second nuclear missile submarine, INS Arighat, to be commissioned by Defence Minister today
New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is set to commission India’s second nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), INS Arighat, at a ceremony in Visakhapatnam on Thursday. The event will be attended by Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Tripathi, Vice Admiral Suraj Berry, head of India's strategic command, and senior officials from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The commissioning of the 6,000-tonne INS Arighat, also known as S-3, marks a significant step in enhancing India’s nuclear deterrence and second-strike capability. The submarine is expected to embark on a long-range patrol in the Indo-Pacific region, armed with K-15 nuclear ballistic missiles with a range of 750 kilometers. This development strengthens India's nuclear triad, which already includes land-based and air-launch nuclear capabilities.
India’s first SSBN, INS Arihant (S-2), is already operational. With the addition of INS Arighat, India will now have two SSBNs patrolling the high seas. These submarines are crucial to India’s no-first-use nuclear policy, providing a robust second-strike capability.
In addition to the SSBN fleet, the Indian Navy has approached the Narendra Modi government for approval to build two nuclear-powered conventionally armed submarines (SSNs). Unlike diesel-electric submarines (SSKs), which need to surface frequently to recharge batteries, SSBNs and SSNs can remain submerged for extended periods, with limitations only due to logistics, supplies, and crew changes.
India's third SSBN, INS Aridaman (S-4), is scheduled for commissioning next year, followed by a fourth submarine, codenamed S-4. These submarines will be more advanced, capable of carrying 3,000-kilometer range nuclear ballistic missiles, and will feature additional missile tubes.
The Indian Navy is also set to enhance its operational capabilities with the commissioning of several new vessels, including the guided missile stealth destroyer INS Surat, the stealth guided missile frigate INS Taragiri, and the sixth Kalvari-class attack submarine INS Vagsheer, all expected within the next six months. Further orders for three more Kalvari-class submarines are anticipated to be placed with Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd later this year.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
