Arihant Class Submarine

The Arihant Class is a class of nuclear powered ballistic missile submarines built for the Indian Navy.The lead vessel is the INS Arihant. Four Vessels are being built and are expected to be in commission by 2023.The Arihant-Class Submarines are India's first indigenously designed and built nuclear submarine.They were developed under the US Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project with a cost of US$2.9 Billion.The INS Arihant is set to be the first ballistic missile submarine to have been built outside the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.The Arihant-Class submarines will have a length of 112m and have a diving depth of 300m.They can achieve a maximum speed of 28kmph when on surface and 44kmph when submerged.The Arihant-Class Submarines have four launch tumes which can carry twelve K-15 Sagarika missiles one warhead each or 4 of the under-development K-4 missiles which have a range of 3,500 km.The Arihant-Class submarines are reported to be similar to the Akula I Class submarines built for the Russian Navy.The Indian Navy will have a chance to train on the INS Chakra which is an Akula-Class Submarine which was leased from Russia in 2012.The Lead boat of the class, INS Arihant is fitted with a combination of two sonar system USHUS and Panchendriya.USHUS is a state-of-the-art sonar meant for Kilo-class submarines.Panchendriya is a unified submarine sonar and tactical control system which includes all the 5 sonar types.(Passive, surveillance, ranging, intercept and active.)
India has activated the reactor on the INS Arihant nuclear submarine. Our Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh hailed the "Giant stride in our indigenous technological capabilities."Last year, India rejoined those countries - The United States of America, UK, France, Russia and China in being an operator of nuclear powered submarines when it formally commissioned a Russin-built submarine into its navy.
When deployed, the INS Arihant will be able to carry a crew of about 100 sailors on board.It has the means to stay under water for long periods and thereby increase its chance of remaining undetected.By contrast, India's ageing conventional diesel-powered submarines need to surface frequently to recharge their batteries.With a cost of One Billion USD, India has leased the Russian nuclear-powered Akula-class submarine for the next 10 years which has been re-named as INS Chakra.And, India has previously operated a Soviet nuclear submarine until 1991.And Russia is expeted to train the Arihant's crew.The crew of the INS Chakra underwent their training in a secretive programme in St. Petersburg.
As we already know, India and Russia are very close allies and Russia supplies 70% of India's military hardware.