India has now joined a select group of countries that will have the capability to launch nuclear weapons from land, air and sea. 

India’s first indigenously-built naval submarine INS Arihant has been inducted into the Indian Navy, reports NewsX. 

b’A file photo of INS Arihant submarine at Visakhapatnam naval warehouse in November 2014|Source: Reutersxc2xa0′

So what features does INS Arihant have? 

  • The indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant is propelled by an 83 MW pressurised light-water reactor at its core.
  •  It was commissioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August this year, after it was declared ready for operations in February.
  • Arihant belongs to Ship Submersible Ballistic Nuclear or SSBN class of naval ships, that are capable of lurking undetected in deep sea levels for months and also can carry nuclear weapons, The Hindu reported.  
  • The submarine will be equipped with four K-4 intermediate range ballistic missiles and 12 short-range K-15 missiles. The K-4 missiles can have nuclear warheads. 
  • It provides India with ‘second strike capability’, meaning the capability to strike back after a nuclear attack from another country.

Unfortunately, Pakistan has a “first strike” policy, meaning it can attack any country with its nuclear arsenal, The Hindu report points out. 

b’Indian Navy representational image|Source: PTIxc2xa0′

According to a Times of India report, two other nuclear submarines are being built.Their construction began under ATV, or advanced technology vessel programme which was launched in 2009 by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

The next of the naval vessels will be completed by 2018, says the report. 

Apart from India, only 5 countries in the world had developed nuclear-armed submarines, which include USA, UK, France, Russia and China. 

(Feature image source: Twitter)