The Untold Story of Nuclear Submarine Arihant
And her Successful ‘Made in India’ Journey
By Commodore Ranjit B Rai (Retd) Published: November 2014
New Delhi. In August 2013, just before India’s Independence Day, the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh congratulated the team that made the nuclear submarine Arihant’s nuclear reactor go critical at Vishakapatnam, appropriately calling it a giant step for India’s security with the words:
“I am delighted to learn that the nuclear propulsion reactor on board INS Arihant, India’s first indigenous nuclear powered submarine, has now achieved criticality. I extend my congratulations to all those associated with this important milestone, particularly the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), the Indian Navy and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Today’s development represents a giant stride in the progress of our indigenous technological capabilities. It is a testimony to the ability of our scientists, technologists and defence personnel to work together for mastering complex technologies in the service of our nation’s security.”
This seminal achievement got eclipsed by the media coverage of the reverberations of the unfortunate explosion and sinking of the Kilo class submarine INS Sindhurakshak with 18 deaths in the Naval Dockyard at Mumbai four days later on the August 14 night. Submarine operations call for high safety standards and quality control checks, as failure of a small system or component or a pump can cause heavy costs and damages. Each crew member has to be an all round professional, and physiologically suited for underwater service and hardships, especially in nuclear submarines. In USA, Admiral Hyman D. Rickover, known as the father of nuclear submarines, interviewed every officer and sailor personally for service in nuclear boats, and even rejected Lt Cdr Elmo Zumwalt Jr (Bud) who later became US Navy’s 19th and the youngest Chief of Naval Operations (CNO).
British science fiction writer Sir Arthur Clark, known for co-writing in the 1960s the script for futuristic 2001: A Space Odyssey film and for first proposing connectivity through satellites and computers once said, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” The statement well applies to miniature nuclear reactors which enable men (and now women) in submarines to safely and comfortably live and operate underwater for months before surfacing. Oxygen is regenerated from sea water. The advantage of a nuclear submarine over conventional submarines is that she can propel underwater for months, the limitation being onboard food supply and human endurance. In the US Navy, which operates nuclear submarines worldwide, crews operate till about three months. There are however two sets of crews, gold and blue, to man and maintain the submarine alternately.
A nuclear submarine is Pearl shaped, with faster speed underwater than on surface. Inertial navigation gadgets, underwater receivers and sonars ensure her safe navigation and communications.
Coded Signals
Coded signals to launch missiles or weapons can be sent to a submarine from the nation’s political nuclear command authority. In India, the Government’s decision for nuclear action will be conveyed through the National Security Adviser (NSA) as extracted from the Prime Minster’s black attaché case of codes, held also by the submarine’s Captain.
The extra low frequencies (ELF) signals are received through trailing antennas, or Blue-Green lasers that can penetrate the sea, or some other secret means. In India’s case, there are some secret locations for this and one new one on the southern coast, called INS Katabomman.
Incidentally in USA, the President’s code box is called the Football, and is always in his easy reach. Nuclear weapons are strategic weapons to deter an attack or to destroy the adversary in case of attack. Indigenous capability is vital in setting up what is called the nuclear triad.
A Real ‘Make in India’ Project
It is to the credit of the Indian Navy planners that they realised this and joined hands with scientists at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) as early as the 1980s when naval officers were deputed to BARC’s Atomic Training Centre.
Jointly, they began designing miniature nuclear reactors in a classified group code-named the new New Reactor Projects Division, carved out of BARC’s Reactor Engineering Division, with dozens of engineers as the core design team. Work under Dr RP Dastidar, head of the Reactor Group, had already begun and was code-named PRP (Propulsion Recycling Project – land Based) in the late 1970s, after the confidence gained in the Smiling Buddha Peaceful Nuclear Explosion (PNE) test on May 18, 1974.
The US had sent its Enterprise aircraft carrier to support Pakistan during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, prompting India to sign a Treaty of Friendship with the erstwhile Soviet Union. Moscow sent a nuclear submarine to the Bay of Bengal. The then Prime Minister, Mrs Indira Gandhi, realised the importance of nuclear submarines and decided to build this capability indigenously.
The nuclear and space programmes are controlled directly by the Prime Minister’s Office; it took time nonetheless due to the political dynamics of the country. Finally, in 1983, she gave her blessings, and funds, to the PRP project and entrusted its execution to Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) Chairman Dr HN Sethna and BARC Director Dr Raja Ramanna, who directed the 1974 PNE test.
The team included Messrs VK Mehra, RB Grover, RS Yadav and S Basu - the current head of BARC - under US and France trained atomic scientist Dr Anil K Anand. In his just published autobiography Second Strike, Dr Anand has included some details of the work by the New Reactor Projects Division; he was a colleague of Dr Anil Kakodkar at BARC. Over the years, Prime Ministers Rajiv Gandhi and AB Vajpayee and Defence Minister George Fernandes lent full support to the project.
The Half Submarine
Dr Anand studied zircaloy joints and tubes and calandria ends in France’s Pressure Water Reactors (PWR) at the Centre Energy Atomique at Scalay near Paris in Section des Advances, for the French EL-4 PWR reactor at Brennilis and learnt the techniques that helped him at BARC. Dr Homi Bhabha, Chairman of India’s Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), was keen for this technology, and the PRP model was used later to build the land based half training nuclear submarine under the classified Advanced technology Vehicle (ATV) Project. Dr Anand’s knowledge was useful.
Dr Anand relates he was interviewed by late Dr Vikarm Sarabhai for the BARC job and he recalls meeting Dr Homi Bhabha.
The near culmination of the submarine project – India’s first nuclear powered nuclear armed submarine Arihant (SSBN) is just about to go for sea trials – is a handsome tribute to the naval planners, atomic scientists, designers and builders. It has taken long but the fact that the submarine project, which includes the vessels, their reactors, some sophisticated onboard systems and nuclear-tipped missiles are just about ready, is a landmark achievement.
Arihant Getting Ready for Sea Trials
INS Arihant, the lead vessel in the series, will sail under the Indian Naval Ensign. There are some checks and rechecks before she sets for the sea, and some time in 2015 or so, she will become the third leg of India’s Triad for nuclear deterrence from the sea, when it will be equipped with DRDO’s underwater SAGARIKA B-05 missile system. Gradually, the range of her missiles will be increased from about 750 to more than 3000 km.
Notably, the current DRDO Chief, Dr Avinash Chander, recently told
India Strategic that onboard systems and missiles were ready and that their integration would be done as required. The power of the submarine has steadily and gradually been stepped up to check her various systems. Arihant has already cleared all the harbour trials.
Project Challenges
In his book, Dr Anand also mentions his hot love affair in France with an affluent divorcee medical doctor whom he calls Ma Dame (Meera). She was in France from Thailand on a scholarship, and the two lived together in a hotel in the romantic Paris. Later they married, although she was many years his senior.
The BARC team under Dr Anand designed and built the half submarine with a miniature reactor (S-1) for training at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) at Kalpakkam. This went critical on November 11, 2003 and operational on September 22, 2006. Its replica is the Arihant’s 80 MW pressured Uranium, U-235 light water reactor. U-235 is enriched uranium.
Arihant has been designated S-2 while the second submarine in the class, Aridhaman, which is also under construction, is designated S-3.
Dates of project execution are detailed in the book. The challenge ashore was to make a dynamo meter to absorb the power which is used in a submarine to power the propeller. No nation easily shares these details and nuclear technologies. The fuel rods and pellets for the reactor and cladding were engineered by Dr Anand from imported Uranium (from Russia) and Indian oxides. Marine reactors are peaceful nuclear facilities, and outside IAEA safeguards. The over Rs 8,000 crore (Approx $ 5 billion over the years) ATV project – as it was dubbed in 1983 – was initiated by late Dr Raja Ramana (PhD in Western music and PhD in Atomic Science, both from UK) with Mrs Gandhi’s encouragement. She tasked the Navy and DRDO to join hands with BARC’S PRP project, and Moscow was approached for help.
The veil of secrecy over the ATV project was first lifted on July 26, 2009 when Mrs Gursharan Kaur, wife of then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, ceremoniously unveiled the submarine to the invited guests and media at the Ship Building Centre (SBC), Vishakapatnam, by breaking the customary coconut to name and bless all those who sail in her as INS Arihant.
Arihant was floated out of the dry dock and berthed alongside. No photography or visit to the 6,000 tonne black menacing hull was allowed. In his speech on the occasion, Dr Manmohan Singh thanked all those who had contributed to the project, including the Russian technicians in the presence of the Russian Ambassador Alexander Kadakin.
It is an engineering feat to master light water miniature uranium reactors in confined submarine spaces. Only USA, Russia, France, China and UK with US help have the capability to engineer and manufacture submarines with nuclear reactors and underwater launched nuclear tipped missiles.
Dr Anand reveals that Arihant was assembled and outfitted at the SBC with indigenous and imported equipment in a unique Public Private Partnership (PPP) between BARC, Navy and DRDO with engineering giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T) in a leased shed and dry dock in the segregated part of the large Naval Dockyard in Vishakhapatnam.
The dockyard was in fact built with Soviet help in the 1970s. Soviet Navy Chief Admiral Sergie Gorshkov however regarded the base as unsuitable because of the narrow mouth of the port. He also foresaw future congestion, and offered to build a green-field naval dockyard at Bimplipatam but Mrs Gandhi did not agree, fearing that Soviets would demand basing facilities. (She had kept India away from joining any blocs in the east-west Cold War). Incidentally, the Navy is now building a new green field base, INS Varsha, in the vicinity for exactly the same reasons.
Admiral Gorshkov helped later in leasing nuclear powered INS Chakra to India in 1987 for training Indian naval personnel in operating n-boats. He personally reposed faith in Indian Navy officers and sailors in operating the nuclear submarines.
The Navy set up a Machinery Test Centre (MTC) at Vishakapatnam and the Defence Machinery & Design Establishment at Hyderabad ((DMDE) to pre-test ATV’s components.
The 6,000 tonne submarine houses the computer controlled and homebuilt reactor, which produces steam under pressure to run the single multiple bladed propeller and generators to power equipment from inside the sealed nuclear pressure vessel. The reactor began purring at low power but gradually, it has been increased and operational and safety checks and rechecks done.
Russian Assistance
Russian technicians and Indo-Soviet/ Russian Working Groups have helped the Arihant programme. An Indian naval submarine design group (SDG) which was set up initially for the ATV at Kalpakkam, has given valuable support. The Indian Government has given due credit to Moscow.
Project History
It may be recalled that initially, the public sector Mazagon Dock Ltd (MDL) was keen for the project to be set up in Mangalore on India’s west coast. But naval planners and BARC scientists, who wanted L&T on board, convinced the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in favour of Vishakhapatnam, as nuclear facilities with expertise were available at nearby Kalpakkam. There was also some submarine skill available in Vishakhapatnam at the Hindustan Shipyard Ltd and naval dockyard where medium refit of Foxtrot class submarines was done. The Bharat Heavy Plates & Vessels (BHPV), Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) Tiruchy, Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL) and Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), other public sector companies, were also close by, and involved. Tata Power supplied the weapon control console while some pumps were imported and some procured indigenously.
In the PMO, the ATV project was under the stewardship of the Scientific Adviser to the Minister of Defence (SA/MOD) and DRDO head, with naval Project Directors with autonomous powers. Rear Admirals R S Chaudhry trained at IIT Kharagpur, Greenwich and with HDW Germany as the naval architect, engineers Gurmeet Singh and N Nadaph, both trained at BARC, find mention as the naval pioneers who were associated with the project from Day One.
The Project Directors and later Directors General of the ATV projects were Vice Admirals including the late MK (Mickey) Roy, an illustrious French trained Alize Observer from 1984 who was also Dr Rammana’s friend and paying guest roommate in London, followed by Bharat Bhushan till 2000 a UK trained engineering specialist; RN Ganesh, the first Captain of INS Chakra trained at Vladivostok till 2003; Promod Bhasin, a missile specialist electrical officer who had served in UK and Soviet Union and prepared the Styx P-20 missiles for the 1971 war; DSP Verma, and currently; Dinesh Prabhakar.
It was Vice Admiral Bhasin who had the honour to cut steel as Project Director in 1999 on his birthday with the then Navy Chief Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat’s support, who took great interest and visited the project.
It is pertinent to record that USS Nautilus took 16 years from 1944 when it was authorised in 1955 for sea trials and in 1960 to join the fleet, while Russia took 16 years to build its first second generation SSN-093 submarine (1990- 2006). The Arihant achievement must be judged as such, and lauded. The Indian Navy and the nation look forward to the Red Letter Day when the Captain can proudly report to the President, India’s Supreme Commander, ‘Arihant is at sea under nuclear power, Sir’, as US Navy’s first submarine Captain of USS Nautilus did in 1954 and went on to sail under the North Pole undetected.
..:: India Strategic ::. Navy: The Untold Story of Nuclear Submarine Arihant
