Nuclear Deterrence

[Arun_S]

Language & reporting quality is wanting in this new article.

It also has some useful technical information





[url="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/In-a-year-India-will-have-nuclear-triad-Navy-chief/articleshow/7030573.cms"]In a year, India will have nuclear triad: Navy chief[/url]

Rajat Pandit, TNN, Dec 3, 2010, 03.54am IST NEW DELHI: Only three countries, US, [url="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Russia"]Russia[/url] and China, can be said to have fully-operational nuclear weapon triads -- the capability to fire nuclear-tipped missiles from land, air and sea. [url="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/India"]India[/url] will [color="#800080"]gatecrash (<img src='http://www.india-forum.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />) [/color]into this highly-exclusive club by 2012.



[url="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=Navy"]Navy[/url] chief Admiral Nirmal Verma, not given to making dramatic statements, said the triad will be complete once its crucial underwater leg, the country's first indigenous nuclear submarine aptly named [url="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=INS%20Arihant"]INS Arihant[/url] or the "destroyer of enemies", is commissioned towards late-2011 or early-2012.



The land and air legs are already in place with the [url="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=Agni"]Agni[/url] family of road and rail-mobile ballistic missiles as well as fighter jets like Mirage-2000s and Sukhoi-30MKIs [color="#800080"]jury-rigged[/color] [color="#800080"] (<img src='http://www.india-forum.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />)[/color] to deliver nuclear weapons.



"When INS Arihant goes to sea, it will be on a deterrent patrol (read armed with nucelar-tipped missiles). The triad will then be in place... the aim is to make it as effective as possible," Admiral Verma said on Thursday, in the run-up to Navy Day on December 4.



This comes barely a day after [url="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Wikileaks"]Wikileaks[/url] revealed that American and European diplomats were greatly alarmed about Pakistan's feverish production of nuclear weapons. Estimates show [url="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Pakistan"]Pakistan[/url] already has around 70 to 90 warheads, higher than India's 60 to 80. China, of course, is way ahead with around 240 warheads.



While Pakistan is nowhere near getting a nuclear submarine, [url="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/China"]China[/url] has 10 of them in its 62-submarine fleet, with three of them being SSBNs (armed with long-range strategic missiles). India, in contrast, has just 15 conventional and ageing diesel-electric submarines.



Consequently, INS Arihant is crucial to India's nuclear deterrence doctrine, which revolves around a clear "no-first use" policy. A robust and survivable second-strike capability is hugely dependent on having nuclear-powered submarines, armed with SLBMs (submarine-launched ballistic missiles), which can operate silently underwater for several months at a time.



Admiral Verma said INS Arihant, which was "launched" at Vizag in July 2009, would have potent SLBM capabilities to complete the triad. With INS Arihant's miniature [color="#a0522d"]83 mw [/color]pressurised light-water reactor slated to go "critical" within a month or two for sea-acceptance trials, Navy also seems quite confident about ongoing undersea tests of the [color="#a0522d"]700-km K-15 and 3,500-km K-4 SLBMs[/color].



The 6,000-tonne INS Arihant, which has four silos on its hump to carry [color="#a0522d"]12 K-15s or four extended range K-4s[/color], is to be followed by another two nuclear submarines under the secretive Rs 30,000 crore Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project.



Navy, on its part, wants to have three SSBNs and six SSNs (nuclear-powered attack submarines) in the years ahead. The force will also finally induct the K-152 Nerpa submarine, on a 10-year lease from Russia, towards April-May 2011 after several delays.



While the 12,000-tonne Nerpa will not come armed with long-range missiles due to international treaties, it will help train Indian sailors in the complex art of operating nuclear submarines. It will also be a lethal hunter of enemy submarines and warships, armed with torpedoes and 300-km Klub-S cruise missiles.