INS Aridaman commissioned, strengthens India’s triad
India on Friday commissioned its new indigenously built nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine — INS Aridaman — into service, adding muscle to the country’s strategic deterrence.
The induction by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at Visakhapatnam also enhanced second-strike capability and bolstered the naval component of the nuclear triad, it was learnt. Triad means the capability to launch nuclear weapons from land, air and sea. “It’s not words but power, ‘Aridaman’,” Defence Minister Singh said in a cryptic social media post in Hindi on Friday morning.
The first nuclear submarine, INS Arihant, was commissioned in 2016, while the second submarine, INS Arighat, joined service in 2024 at Visakhapatnam. One more submarine of the Arihant class is now under construction. All these submarines are SSBNs. It means ship
submersible ballistic nuclear or nuclear-powered missile submarines.
India is among a select group of countries that possess nuclear-powered submarines. The other countries that have such assets are the US, Russia, the UK, France and China. INS Aridaman is larger than INS Arihant and INS Arighaat, featuring a more streamlined hull, better stealth, and increased acoustic performance. Moreover, the latest submarine is designed to carry more long-range K-4 missiles (over 3,000 km range) compared to previous boats, alongside K-15 missiles.
At around 7,000 tonnes, INS Aridaman has a more streamlined hull designed to improve stealth and acoustic performance — a critical factor for underwater survivability.
The submarine is powered by an upgraded 83 MW pressurised water reactor (PWR) developed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), underscoring India’s growing indigenous technological capability in nuclear propulsion. A key upgrade lies in its firepower. Unlike earlier submarines, INS Aridaman is equipped with eight vertical launch tubes, doubling the missile capacity of INS Arihant. This allows it to carry either up to 8 K-4 ballistic missiles with a range of about 3,500 km, or as many as 24 K-15 missiles with a range of around 750 km.
The submarine will join the Strategic Forces Command, strengthening India’s ability to maintain a credible “second-strike” capability.
The induction of INS Aridaman will significantly enhance India’s ability to maintain a “continuous at-sea deterrence” — ensuring that at least one nuclear-armed submarine remains on patrol at all times, a key element of credible nuclear deterrence.While India has already demonstrated land- and air-based nuclear capabilities, the expansion of its submarine fleet signals a clear focus on strengthening its underwater nuclear posture.
The commissioning of INS Aridhaman comes amid a broader push towards defence self-reliance and indigenous military capability, reinforcing India's position as an emerging maritime power in an increasingly complex security environment.
