INS Arihant commissioned in Aug, but not 'fully ready' for patrols: Report

India's 1st indigenous nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine can carry between 4 to 12 nuclear-tipped missiles

India quietly commissioned into service its first indigenous nuclear submarine, the INS Arihant, in August this year and the vessel has been operational since then, The Times of India reported on Tuesday while citing sources.

With its induction, India has completed the first step towards setting up a nuclear triad.

The national daily said that according to the same sources, despite being inducted, the Arihant is "not yet fully ready" to be deployed for "deterrent patrols". The report added that the Ministry of Defence and the Indian Navy have refused to comment on the matter.

All you need to know about INS Arihant:

INS Arihant is India's first nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine. While India has leased nuclear submarines from Russia before, Arihant is the first such vessel built indigenously.

According to reports, the vessel will be armed with the K-15 missiles, which can carry nuclear warheads to a range of 750 km, and with K-4 missile, which has a longer range.

In April this year, news agency IANS had reported that the K-4 ballistic missile was test-fired secretly from the Arihant in March the same year. The report added that the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) refused to officially comment on the matter.

The report said that the K-4 missile had a range of 3,500 km, adding that the Arihant has four vertical launch tubes, which can carry 12 K-15 missiles or four larger K-4 missiles. Read More

Scorpene leak: New set of documents out, gives details on sonar system of submarines

Scorpene leak: New set of documents out, gives details on sonar system of submarines

Australia's The Australian newspaper on Thursday uploaded a fresh tranche of leaked documents relating to information about operating instructions of underwater warfare system of the six Scorpene submarines which are being built in India by French firm DCNS.

However, a top defence analyst allayed fears that it could compromise the security of the strategically important combat vessels.

Like in the previous case, the newspaper has blacked out all details which it felt would compromise India's security interests.

However, the new set of documents, with Indian Navy insignia on it and marked "Restricted Scorpene India", gives details about the sonar system of the submarines which is used to gather intelligence underwater.

It talks about a wide range of technical specifications of the sonars and at what degree and frequency it will function. It has a System Technical Manual and an Operating Instruction Manual that have crucial details of the combat management system (more)