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.
After all, SSNs are underwater fighter jets.
The Indian Navy experts appreciate the initial step but contend that the navy requires at least six nuclear-powered attack submarines.
“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.
“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.
India presently has two nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs). As an instrument of India’s nuclear deterrence, they cannot be deployed for tactical missions.
That is where the SSNs come into play to counter numerically superior navies. They can stalk and shadow targets at will, and their near invulnerability makes them the most potent weapon in a country’s arsenal.
The proposed SSNs are planned to be bigger and more powerful. They will be powered by a 190 MW reactor.
China’s Growing Submarine Fleet
The PLA-Navy is augmenting its undersea capability.
According to an assessment by the US Naval Institute, the level of quieting in China’s current Shang class SSN is at par with Soviet designs from the 1970s. The assessment said: “In contrast, if the PLAN were able to deploy super-quiet SSNs on par with the best US and Russian boats, that would represent a major strategic change—not only for its ability to defend on the open ocean but also in terms of China’s capacity to threaten US naval forces well outside the first island chain.
“Such a capability would give China transoceanic reach with single platforms, absent the extensive logistical support or need for the overseas bases a carrier strike group requires.”
The PLAN presence in the Indian Ocean has been growing steadily since 2009. The rise of piracy and ship hijackings in the Gulf of Aden hastened the Chinese Navy’s advent in the region.
Since 2017, submarines, along with PLAN’s survey and hydrographic ships, have been regularly deployed in the Indian Ocean. The increasing presence of Chinese state-run hydrographic ships and survey vessels will facilitate the future deployment of Chinese SSBNs and SSNs in the Indian Ocean.
- Ritu Sharma has been a journalist for over a decade, writing on defense, foreign affairs, and nuclear technology.
- The author can be reached at ritu.sharma (at) mail.com
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