India has successfully test-fired a ballistic missile from its nuclear submarine INS Arihant. The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced that "The missile was tested with a predetermined range and hit the target area in the Bay of Bengal with high accuracy. All operational and technological parameters of the weapon system have been validated."
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that the indigenous ballistic missile nuclear submarine INS Arihant had successfully launched a nuclear capable Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) in the Bay of Bengal with “very high accuracy”.
INS Arihant has become India’s first indigenous nuclear powered ballistic missile capable submarine and India has become world's sixth country which can conduct nuclear strikes and counterstrikes on land, sea and air. The other countries with such capabilities are the US, Russia, UK, France and China.
'K' family of Missile
The exact type of Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs), also called the ‘K’ family of missiles, used in the test has not been disclosed. This could be K-15 ‘Sagarika’ or K-4 missiles. K-15 can deliver a 1,000 kg warhead. A dozen of them can be deployed by Arihant. The newer K-4 is a full-size SLBM. The K-15 missile has ranges of around 750 to 1500 kilometres and the K-4 can strike targets up to a distance of 3,500 kilometres. India has also developed and successfully tested K-4 missiles.
The Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs), have been indigenously developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The family is codenamed after Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. These missiles are to be launched from submarines, they are lighter, more compact and stealthier than their Agni missile land-based counterparts.
About INS Arihant
INS Arihant, designated as S2 Strategic Strike Nuclear Submarine is the lead ship of India's Arihant class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. The INS Arihant is 6,000 tonne vessel that was built under the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project at the Ship Building Centre in the port city of Visakhapatnam. INS Arihant is India's first home made nuclear submarine. It was launched in July 2009, the anniversary of Vijay Diwas (Kargil War Victory Day).
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