India to soon commission third indigenous nuclear submarine armed with ballistic missiles: Navy Chief

Indian Navy Chief Admiral DK Tripathi on Tuesday said India is to soon commission its third indigenous nuclear powered and ballistic missile carrying submarine named 'Aridaman'.

Called in Naval parlance 'ship submersible ballistic nuclear' (SSNB), India has already inducted two such submarines named INS Arihant and INS Arighat. These are nuclear-powered submarines and can remain submerged under water for days. India's nuclear doctrine rules out a 'first strike', however, to carry out a retaliatory strike an SSBN is considered the best option.

Separate from the SSBN, India is also looking to secure a nuclear-powered attack submarine from Russia. This is nuclear powered, but does not carry nuclear missiles. Sources said it is expected to be arriving in India by 2027.

Meanwhile, speaking about Operation Sindoor, the Admiral said it still remains in progress. Referring to the four-day period (May 7-10), the Admiral said the aggressive posturing and the deployment of the carrier battle group pinned the Pakistan Navy close to its coast.

“We have maintained a relentless operational tempo across our area of interest,” said the Admiral while addressing a press conference just two days ahead of the Navy Day that is observed to commemorate the audacious attack from Sea at Karachi on December 4, 1971.

The Admiral added that during Operation Sindoor “our maritime domain awareness ensured Pakistan Navy did not come out.” Asked if he saw any possibility of Pakistan retaliating, the Admiral said, "We did not see any chance of retaliation as their assets, including maritime surveillance planes did not venture out."

“Post Operation Sindoor, we keep an eye on where Pakistan Navy assets are deployed.”

The Navy Chief said there was no noticeable Chinese support to Pak during Operation Sindoor, although, Pakistan uses Chinese weapons.

Speaking about the efforts to create cohesion between the three Armed forces, the Admiral said during Operation Sindoor, the top leadership was on the same page.

Furthermore, the Admiral said there are 51 ships under construction at Indian shipyards. The Ministry of Defence has also given nod to another 47 ships to be made — cases which are under progress.

Asked about Chinese research vessels in Indian Ocean, the Navy Chief said that the Indian Navy is fully aware of their activities and also of all the ships in the region. "There is no need to be concerned but we are fully aware," he added.