India has recently acquired a submarine equipped with nuclear missiles : INS

India has recently acquired a submarine equipped with nuclear missiles. However, will it be able to keep pace with China?

Late last month, India's second submarine equipped with nuclear missiles was added to its navy, a step the government claims enhances its nuclear defence while New Delhi remains cautious about China and Pakistan.

However, India is still behind in comparison to China, especially when it comes to military strength, as the People’s Liberation Army is expanding its military forces – including those on land and in the air – due to ongoing tensions near their border.

The nuclear-powered submarine, INS Arighaat, named "Destroyer of the Enemy" in Sanskrit, is expected to "aid in maintaining strategic equilibrium" in the area, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh mentioned during a commissioning event on August 29 at the Visakhapatnam naval base, which is the main base of India’s Eastern Naval Command located on the Bay of Bengal.

Currently, the balance leans towards China, with the world's largest navy in terms of numbers, including six operational Jin-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines that surpass India's two – Arighaat and its predecessor of the same type, INS Arihant – in terms of firepower.

These Chinese submarines are capable of launching a dozen ballistic missiles with ranges of over 8,000 kilometres (4,970 miles) and can carry multiple nuclear warheads, as reported by the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, a non-profit organization advocating for missile defence technology for the United States and its allies.

The Arighaat and Arihant submarines, measuring 366 feet long and weighing 6,000 tons, as evaluated by the open-source intelligence company Janes, are outfitted with K-15 Sagarika ballistic missiles. These missiles can be launched from four vertical launch systems. Nonetheless, the missiles loaded with nuclear warheads are thought to have a maximum range of around 750 kilometres (466 miles), limiting the launch zones to areas near the Indian Ocean.

"The INS Arihant-class submarines struggle to get close to targets in China near the eastern border with India, which is perilously shallow for them to navigate in the coastal waters of the northern Bay of Bengal," Carl Schuster, who previously headed the operations division at the US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center, explained.

The unofficial border between India and China referred to as the Line of Actual Control, has been a source of conflict for many years. Soldiers from both countries most recently engaged in combat there in 2022 and 2020, when direct combat broke out between them, leading to the deaths of at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers in Aksai Chin.

The Indian government has been tight-lipped about the capabilities of the Arighaat, saying only “technological advancements undertaken indigenously on this submarine make it significantly more advanced than its predecessor,” which was commissioned eight years ago.

India has not even released pictures of Arighaat since its August 29 commissioning.

Naval analysts say India is clearly on course to develop a subsea nuclear deterrent that, while it may not be as big as China’s, will pack enough second-strike wallop to deter Beijing from taking hostile action against it.

India is developing more advanced, larger submarines equipped with missiles capable of reaching distances of up to 6,000 kilometres (3,728 miles), as per experts, which could potentially allow for attacks across China.

"While India's naval nuclear capabilities are still in their early stages, the nation is clearly aiming to build a sophisticated naval nuclear force centred around ballistic missile submarines," Matt Korda, an associate director at the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, noted.

"These submarines play a crucial role in India's strategy to create a secure nuclear deterrent, thereby enabling India to threaten targets in Pakistan and China, especially with its future submarines that are expected to have more missile launchers and missiles capable of longer ranges," Korda explained in an email to CNN.

However, the deployment of India's next generation of ballistic missile submarines could be several years off, based on past experiences. The Arighaat submarine was put into service nearly seven years ago, and following a similar schedule from launch to commissioning, India's next ballistic missile submarine might not be operational until 2030. 

However, the addition of a second ballistic missile submarine to India's naval and military arsenal does serve as a significant psychological boost, according to Tom Shugart, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security and a former commander of a US Navy submarine.

"It signifies a nation's status as a great power," Shugart noted, highlighting that the five members of the United Nations Security Council – the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, and France – all possess nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarines or SSBNs.

The smallest of these SSBN fleets, those of Britain and France, each have four submarines, a number Shugart views as essential for maintaining a presence at sea at all times.

Submarines powered by nuclear energy are intricate machines. When repairs are needed, or simply for routine maintenance, the process can span several months.

For example, the US Navy's Ohio-class SSBNs typically spend around 77 days at sea, followed by 35 days in port for upkeep, as reported by the US Navy's Pacific Fleet.

Refits and overhauls can take up to 27 months for a nuclear reactor refuelling, as documented by the US Navy.

"By having multiple submarines, there's a greater likelihood that India will be able to maintain at least one in a functional state at sea," Shugart explained.

"However, sustaining a presence at sea at all times may require more submarines than the current two," he added.

A cautious China

Before its launch, the Arighat submarine was attracting attention in China, with the state-run newspaper Global Times quoting unnamed Chinese experts who cautioned India against using it for aggressive purposes.

"Nuclear weapons should be utilized for the preservation of peace and stability, not for flexing military might or engaging in nuclear threats," the Global Times report stated.

Other experts have suggested that India's response to Beijing's growing naval strength is justified, given China's dominant position as the world's largest navy in terms of the number of vessels.

"China's extensive naval expansion, along with the regular deployment of fully armed nuclear deterrence patrols by Type 094 submarines (the Jin-class) pose a threat to other nations in the region, including India," said Kandlikar Venkatesh, an analyst at GlobalData.

The launch of the Arihant-class submarines is expected to offer India a measure of parity with its Chinese counterparts, Venkatesh noted, adding that further investment in submarines is anticipated, with a budget of $31.6 billion over the next decade.

Reports suggest that larger submarines and missiles with greater range are in development, which could lead to India deploying nuclear-armed missiles with a range of up to 12,000 kilometres (almost 7,500 miles), Venkatesh said.