India’s first indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant had finally made its maiden foray into the wide-open sea in Bay of Bengal. The indigenously built nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine Arihant completed its all of its harbour trials and entered the sea.
The 6,000-tonne vessel commenced its sea trials off Visakhapatnam coast in the presence of defence minister Manohar Parrikar.
Arihant is powered by 83 MW pressurized light water reactor built with Russia’s help. This reactor generates tremendous heat, driving a steam turbine. Arihant is capable of launching nuclear-capable ballistic missile BO-5 which has a range of 700 kms. It can carry 12 such missiles. India will join an elite club of six nations (The US, Russia, France, Britain, China and India) that operate nuclear submarines carrying ballistic missiles.
