India has added a second nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarine to its naval fleet, a significant development that strengthens its nuclear deterrence capabilities. This move, which took place in late August, reflects India’s growing concern over its strategic environment, particularly regarding China and Pakistan. However, despite this addition, India remains behind China, which continues to expand its military capabilities both at sea and on land.
The new submarine, INS Arighaat, meaning “Destroyer of the Enemy” in Sanskrit, was commissioned at a ceremony on August 29 at Visakhapatnam naval base on India’s eastern coast. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh emphasized its importance, stating that the sub would contribute to establishing a strategic balance in the region. However, this balance currently favors China, which boasts the world’s largest navy by numbers, including six Jin-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines.
China’s Jin-class submarines are equipped with ballistic missiles that have ranges of at least 8,000 kilometers (approximately 5,000 miles) and are capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads. In comparison, India’s two nuclear submarines, INS Arighaat and its predecessor INS Arihant, are less advanced. Both Indian submarines can carry K-15 Sagarika ballistic missiles, which are launched from four vertical launch tubes. However, these missiles have a much shorter range of around 750 kilometers (466 miles), limiting their reach when launched from the Indian Ocean.
“The INS Arihant-class can barely reach Chinese targets along the eastern Sino-Indian border from the coastal waters of northern Bay of Bengal, which is dangerously shallow for a submarine,” said Carl Schuster, an analyst and former director of operations at the US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center.
Tensions between India and China have been high for years, with the de facto border, known as the Line of Actual Control, being a flashpoint. The two countries last clashed there in 2022, with previous confrontations in 2020 resulting in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese soldiers in Aksai Chin.
India’s Progress in Developing Second-Strike Capabilities
Despite being less advanced than China, India is steadily developing its second-strike nuclear capabilities. The Indian government has been tight-lipped about the exact capabilities of INS Arighaat, stating only that it is “significantly more advanced” than its predecessor, INS Arihant, which was commissioned eight years ago. No official images of INS Arighaat have been released since its commissioning.
Experts believe that India is working toward a robust underwater nuclear deterrent, which, though smaller than China’s, would still be capable of delivering a powerful retaliatory strike if necessary. India is also developing newer and larger submarines equipped with missiles that could have a range of up to 6,000 kilometers (approximately 3,728 miles), allowing them to target any location in China.
“Although India’s sea-based nuclear deterrent remains in relative infancy, the country clearly has an ambition to field a sophisticated naval nuclear force with ballistic missile submarines at its core,” said Matt Korda, associate director for the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists.
Korda added that these submarines are integral to India’s broader plan to establish a secure second-strike nuclear capability, thus enabling India to target both Pakistan and China. He also mentioned that the third and fourth submarines, currently in development, would have longer-range missiles and more missile tubes, significantly enhancing India’s nuclear deterrence.
However, it could be several years before these new submarines are operational. INS Arighaat itself was launched nearly seven years ago, and if the same timeline applies to the next ballistic missile submarine, it may not join the fleet until 2030.
The Prestige of Ballistic Missile Submarines
The addition of INS Arighaat does more than just bolster India’s naval strength; it also elevates the country’s status as a global power, according to Tom Shugart, a former US Navy submarine commander and adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.
“It is a marker of being a great power,” Shugart said, noting that all five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council—the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, and France—have nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs). Even though India’s fleet is smaller, with only two SSBNs, the fact that it has them at all places the country in elite company.
Shugart explained that nuclear-powered submarines are complex machines that require extensive maintenance. On average, the US Navy’s Ohio-class SSBNs spend 77 days at sea followed by 35 days in port for repairs. “By having more than one, there’s a better chance India will be able to have one of them at sea in a survivable status,” Shugart said, though he added that to maintain a constant sea presence, India would likely need more than its current two submarines.
China’s Reaction to India’s Naval Expansion
Even before INS Arighaat was commissioned, it had drawn attention from China. The state-run Global Times quoted Chinese experts who urged India not to use the submarine to “flex muscles.” The newspaper emphasized that nuclear weapons should be used to safeguard peace and stability, not for show or coercion.
Other analysts suggest that India’s recent moves are a response to the growing pressure from Beijing. China now has the largest navy in the world, and its regular deployment of fully armed Jin-class nuclear submarines is seen as a threat by neighboring countries, including India. According to Kandlikar Venkatesh, an analyst at GlobalData analytics company, “China’s extensive naval buildup and the regular deployment of fully armed nuclear deterrence patrols by Type 094 submarines (the Jin class) are perceived as a threat by other countries in the region, including India.”
India’s investment in its nuclear submarine fleet is set to continue, with plans to spend $31.6 billion over the next decade. Larger submarines with longer-range missiles are reportedly in development, which could eventually enable India to field nuclear-tipped weapons with ranges of up to 12,000 kilometers (about 7,500 miles), Venkatesh added.
Pakistan as a Secondary Concern
While China remains India’s primary focus, Pakistan’s naval expansion is also a cause for concern. Abhijit Singh, a senior fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in Mumbai, noted that Pakistan is in the process of modernizing its navy, including acquiring eight Chinese-designed Type 039B attack submarines.
“The real impetus for India’s expansion of its second-strike capability is, in fact, the significant growth of the Pakistani and Chinese navies in the Indian Ocean,” Singh wrote in an op-ed for the Hindustan Times.
The rivalry between India and Pakistan, especially over the disputed region of Kashmir, has been a longstanding source of tension, and Pakistan’s growing naval capabilities further complicate the regional dynamics.
Fears of Nuclear Proliferation
Matt Korda of the Federation of American Scientists voiced concerns not so much about the submarines themselves, but about the development of multiple-warhead missiles, known as Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicles (MIRVs). These technologies are also being developed by Pakistan and China, and their introduction could destabilize the region.
“India, Pakistan, and China are all developing missiles that can carry multiple warheads,” Korda said, explaining that these systems are seen as ideal for a first strike but are also likely targets in an adversary’s initial attack. This could accelerate the arms race in the region as countries look for ways to defend against or counter such weapons.
India joined the ranks of nations with MIRV technology in April, following a successful test of the Agni-V intercontinental ballistic missile. However, while Pakistan has claimed to possess similar capabilities, experts have not yet verified this assertion.
These advancements in missile technology are likely to keep tensions in the region high, as each country continues to build up its defenses and offensive capabilities.