India on Thursday launched its second nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine INS Arighaat. The submarine has been included in the Strategic Forces Command. The inclusion of the nuclear submarine in the Indian Navy has irritated China’s state-run newspaper Global Times. Global Times said that nuclear weapons should not be used for blackmailing.
The Global Times wrote, ‘Chinese experts said that India should use this power responsibly and contribute to peace and stability, and should not use it to show its strength.’
INS Arighat was built at the Shipbuilding Center in Visakhapatnam and has a displacement of 6000 tonnes. The submarine with a range of 750 km is equipped with ballistic missile K-15 and is now ready for long-range patrolling in the Indo-Pacific region. The length of the submarine is about 113 meters and its beam is 11 meters, draft is 9.5 meters. Arighat can go to a depth of 980 to 1400 feet under water.
The inclusion of the second nuclear submarine in the Indian Navy can give India a strategic advantage in the Indo-Pacific, where China is constantly increasing its influence. Amid the ongoing tension with China, the Indian Navy can get further strengthened with the nuclear submarine.
‘For nuclear blackmailing…’
The Global Times quoted a Beijing-based military expert as saying, “India has a growing number of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, but with power comes the responsibility of using it.”
The Global Times further quoted the expert as saying, ‘As long as nuclear weapons exist, they should be used to safeguard peace and stability, and not for increasing power or nuclear blackmailing.’
Which other countries have nuclear submarines?
Only America, China, Britain, France and Russia have such submarines in the world. China also has advanced capability than this.
INS Arighat has a nuclear reactor installed inside it which will give the submarine a speed of 28 KM/hr on the surface and 44 KM/hr underwater. It is reported that India is preparing to build a third nuclear submarine in this sequence.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)