On November 5, India’s first indigenous SSBN (ship-submersible, ballistic, nuclear) INS Arihant concluded its first, month-long deterrence patrol, prompting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to tweet: “In an era such as this, a credible nuclear deterrence is the need of the hour. Having an SSBN completes the triangle of atomic weapons’ delivery systems comprising strategic bombers, intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM). An SSBN is powered by a nuclear reactor and can remain submerged for months without having to return to base. SSBNs are also different from nuclear-powered attack submarines because they can carry ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads. The Arihant can carry up to 12 K-15 short-range ballistic missiles, which have an estimated range of about 700 kilometres, or four K-4 intermediate-range ballistic missiles, which have an estimated range of 3,500km.

Source: The Nation Bangkok February 11, 2019 18:00 UTC