INS Aridhaman

INS Aridhaman (SSBN 82) (lit. 'Perpetually Victorious') is a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, and the third of the Indian Navy's Arihant-class submarine. It is designated S4 Strategic Strike Nuclear Submarine. The 7,000-tonne vessel was built under the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project at the Ship Building Centre in the port city of Visakhapatnam. It is an upgraded variant of the Arihant-class submarine.^[9][10][11]

History
India
Name	INS Aridhaman
Builder	Shipbuilding Centre (SBC), Visakhapatnam, India[1]
Laid down	2018[2]
Launched	23 November 2021[3]
Commissioned	TBD
Status	Under Sea Trials [4]
General characteristics
Class & type	Arihant-class ballistic missile submarine
Type	Ballistic missile submarine
Displacement	7,000 tonnes
Length	130 m
Beam	11 m
Draft	9.5 m
Installed power	1 x CLWR-B1 Compact Light-water reactor,[5][6] 83 MW[3]
Propulsion	1 × propeller shaft, nuclear propulsion
Speed	Surfaced: 12–15 knots (22–28 km/h) Submerged: 24 knots (44 km/h)
Range	Unlimited except by food supplies
Endurance	Unlimited except by food supply and maintenance
Test depth	Between 300 m (980 ft) to 400 m (1,300 ft)[7]
Sensors & processing systems	USHUS sonar Panchendriya unified submarine sonar, control system and underwater communication system [8]

The submarine was quietly launched in 2021 and little has been publicly announced about its capabilities and current status.^[12]

Description

The boat will have one seven-blade propeller powered by a Compact Light Water Reactor (CLWR). It can achieve a maximum speed of 12–15 knots (22–28 km/h) when on surface and 24 knots (44 km/h) when submerged.^[13][14][15] The CLWR is an upgraded form of the one that powers INS Arihant. The CLWR has exceptionally lower acoustic signature than the previous generation making it harder to detect by enemy vessels along with longer endurance.^[16]

The submarine has Eight launch tubes in its hump, compared to four on her predecessors. She can carry up to 24 K-15 Sagarika missiles (each with a range of 750 km or 470 mi), eight K-4 missiles (with a range of 3,500 km or 2,200 mi) or K-5 missiles (with range of 6,000 km or 3,700 mi).^[3][17][18]

Status

INS Aridhaman was launched in November 2021 and is currently undergoing sea trials. ^{[3] [4]}

INS Aridhaman is significantly more advanced than the INS Arihant with an increased indigenous content of 70%. In contrast to its predecessor which is equipped with 4 VLS for K-15 Sagarika or K-4 SLBM, Aridhaman is equipped with 8 VLS for K-4 SLBM or a more and longer range K-5 SLBM.^[19]

Service history

INS Aridhaman is expected to be inducted into the Indian Navy in 2025.^[4]