The main features of INS Arihant, India's first indigenous nuclear submarine that has been inducted in the Indian Navy.
* Arihant is a 6,000 tonne nuclear propelled submarine.
* It is a SSBN (ship submersible ballistic, nuclear submarine), or a submarine that can carry ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads.
* Its design is based on the Russian Akula-1 class submarines and its 83mw pressurised water reactor has been built with significant Russian assistance.
* On July 26, 2009, on Vijay Diwas, the anniversary day of Kargil War victory, Arihant was launched into the water at the ship-building centre in Visakhapatnam.
* In 2013, the nuclear reactor of the submarine went 'critical'.
* The sea trials started in December 2014.
* It was declared fit for operations in February 2016, and quietly inducted in the Indian Navy later.
* It is part of Indian Navy's secretive Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project, under the supervision the Prime Minister's Office and involving agencies and establishments such as the DRDO, the Department of Atomic Energy, the Submarine Design Group of the Directorate of Naval Design, besides companies such as L&T.
* In April, the submarine test fired nuclear capable ballistic missile K-4. The missile is named after former President and scientist A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
* Arihant has four vertical launch tubes, which can carry 12 K-15 missiles or four larger K-4 missiles.
* It completes India's nuclear triad - capability of firing nuclear weapons from land, air and sea.
--IANS
ao/rn/vt
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