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16 September 2024

India’s Secret New Submarine Could Be the Key to Preventing a Nuclear War With China

Sébastien Roblin

On August 29, India’s defense minister presided over the commissioning ceremony of S3 Arighat, the country’s second-ever home-built nuclear-powered submarine. The nuclear-armed sub is a manifestation of India’s progress toward deploying a diversified “triad” of of air, sea, and land-based nukes. At the same time, the U.S. and its allies are seeking deeper military cooperation with the Indian Navy due to mutual tensions with Beijing. So, the overall goal is to provide round-the-clock sea-based nuclear deterrence—especially against China.

Arighat, which translates to “slayer of enemies,” and the preceding Arihant submarine, which the new ship is based on, are initial stepping stones in the Indian Navy’s ambitious program to build a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines loaded with nuclear-armed ballistic missiles.

Rather than hunting enemy ships, ballistic missile submarines (also known as “boomers” or SSBNs) lurk quietly in hiding. They await a signal transmitted from national leadership via very-low-frequency radio before releasing a volley of nuclear ballistic missiles on distant targets.

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