The Indian Navy aims to procure new

nuclear-powered Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...

attack submarines An attack submarine or hunter-killer submarine is a submarine specifically designed for the purpose of attacking and sinking other submarines, surface combatants and merchant vessels. In the Soviet Navy, Soviet and Russian Navy, Russian navies th ...

(SSN) under Project 75 Alpha. The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

approved the construction of six of such submarines in February 2015. These will be designed by the Navy's in-house Directorate of Naval Design and built in India at the Shipbuilding Centre at

Visakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura (S20), INS ...

. The construction is expected to commence on 2023-24 while the first submarine is expected to enter service in 2032. Since India is a traditional user of Russian nuclear submarines (with INS ''Chakra'' on lease) the new domestically built submarines would be third class of SSN operated by Indian navy after leased ''Charlie I'' and ''Akula II''-class submarines.

Development

The program to construct and deploy a fleet of nuclear submarines was first envisaged in late 1990s. Patrolling by

People's Liberation Army Navy The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN; ), also known as the People's Navy, Chinese Navy, or PLA Navy, is the maritime service branch of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAN traces its lineage to naval units fighting during the Chinese ...

ships further fast-tracked India's naval expansion programs. As per the initial plan, first 4 Arihant class submarines and later much larger S5 class nuclear

ballistic missile submarine A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. The United States Navy's hull classification symbols for ballistic missile submarines are SSB and SSBN – t ...

s, and 6 nuclear

attack submarine An attack submarine or hunter-killer submarine is a submarine specifically designed for the purpose of attacking and sinking other submarines, surface combatants and merchant vessels. In the Soviet and Russian navies they were and are called ...

s were planned. The submarines will be powered by a miniature

pressurised water reactor A pressurized water reactor (PWR) is a type of light-water nuclear reactor. PWRs constitute the large majority of the world's nuclear power plants (with notable exceptions being the UK, Japan and Canada). In a PWR, the primary coolant (water) is ...

(PWR) being developed by the

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is India's premier nuclear research facility, headquartered in Trombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was founded by Homi Jehangir Bhabha as the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay (AEET) in January 195 ...

which has already supplied a similar 83 MW miniature reactor for the Arihant-class submarine SSBNs. On 24 June 2019, it was reported that have been allocated for the initial phase of the project. The submarines will be designed by Directorate of Naval Design (now call Warship Design Bureau) and the development is expected to continue till 2025.

Mishra Dhatu Nigam Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited (abbreviated as MIDHANI), is a specialized metals and metal alloys manufacturing facility in India, located in Hyderabad, Telangana. It is a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU), under the administrative control of Depa ...

is developing a new hull material that is expected to allow the submarine to dive to deeper depths than . A scaled down model of the submarine is planned to be tested first. The total cost of the project is estimated to be around . In February 2020, ''

The Economic Times ''The Economic Times'' is an Indian English-language business-focused daily newspaper. It is owned by The Times Group. ''The Economic Times'' began publication in 1961. As of 2012, it is the world's second-most widely read English-language bus ...

'' reported that the preliminary design phase of the programme has been successfully completed. The report stated that Submarine Design Group of the Directorate of Naval Design now call warship design bureau , assisted by the

DRDO The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) (IAST: ''Raksā Anūsandhān Evam Vikās Sangaṭhan'') is the premier agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, ...

, will now start working on the detailed design and construction phase of the programme. The

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...

has prioritized the construction of Project 75 Alpha submarines over the third aircraft carrier. Initially three submarines are planned to undergo construction in 2023-24 while the remaining three will get clearance later. The first boat is expected to enter service in 2032. The ship class will have a final design clearance in Gurugram by Submarine Design Group, its nuclear reactor will be built in

Kalpakkam Kalpakkam is a township in Tamil Nadu, India, situated on the Coromandel Coast 70 kilometres south of Chennai. A conglomerate of two villages (Puduppattinam and Sadurangappatinam) and a DAE township, it is about from Thiruvanmiyur and fro ...

, hull fabrication will take place in

Hazira Hazira is a suburb and a transshipment port in the Surat City in the Gujarat state of India. It is the west most end of Surat. Hazira is one of the major ports of India and the most important element of Surat Metropolitan Region. The town is ...

and finally assembly and sea trials will be undertaken at the ship-building centre (SBC) in

References

{{Current SSN Nuclear-powered submarines Submarine classes Attack submarines Submarines of the Indian Navy

Development

See also

References