DRDO(defence Research And Development Organization

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<b>Coming Soon: India's N-sub</b> <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->
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Friday April 11 2008
Balasore

India is now working on its first-ever nuclear powered submarine dubbed as advanced technology vessel (ATV) to test the submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) under sea.

A top naval official on condition of anonymity disclosed that the first of the three 6,000-tonne ATVs will be ‘ready to go to sea’ for trials by early 2009.

“If the trials go well, it could be inducted into service within two years,” he said on Thursday.

The ATV would be India’s first indigenous nuclear-powered submarine and India’s first submarine able to fire nuclear-armed missiles.

<b>“Now three indigenous nuclear-powered submarines are being built at Visakhapatnam under the ATV project” he informed.</b>

As India doesn’t have a nuclear-powered submarine and for that reason Pontoon (replica of a submarine) was used during the test of the SLBM K-15 last month. Though India has about 20 submarines but all are diesel-powered.

<b>Sources said when integrated with the ATV, the K-15 missile will give the country second- strike capabilities.</b>

“Though the ATV is designed to carry at least 12 vertical-launched nuclear- tipped SLBMs or SLCMs but it will take some time for the K-15 to be integrated with,” said a defence scientist.

Once the ATV is ready, India will finally achieve its long-standing aim to have an operational nuclear weapon triad because fighters like Sukhoi-30MKI and Mirage-2000s,which can be rigged to carry nuclear weapons already constitute the air-based leg.

This apart, in a joint collaboration with Russia, India has also produced the submarine launched version of the BrahMos cruise missile.

But it is waiting for a necessary platform (submarine) for trial because Indian navy’s Russian-made Kilo-class submarines and the German-designed HDW submarines do not have the capability to fire cruise missiles, the sources informed.

<b>Meanwhile, the DRDO has also developed extensive expertise in launching long-range missiles from mobile and railway launchers. This allows the missiles to be scattered all over India before being moved to a launch site by road or rail.</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->