India's first nuclear submarine launched; historic achievement, says PM

-

The wife of the Manmohan Sing breaks a coconut on the hull of the submarine India Sunday joined a select group of five nations with the launching here of the country's first indigenously designed and built nuclear-powered attack submarine, which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described as a 'historic milestone' in the country's defence preparedness.

The prime minister's wife Gursharan Kaur did the honours of launching the submarine - INS Arihant - at a function here.

Manmohan Singh, speaking at the event, assured that the nuclear submarine was not developed with 'aggressive designs' or to 'threaten anyone', but it was necessary to take all measures to safeguard the country and keep pace with technological advancements in the world.

He also congratulated the Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV) Programme and the people associated with it for designing and building the nuclear submarine, which he said was a reflection of the 'immense technical expertise' and the strength of the research and development organisations in the country.

'Today we join a select group of five nations who possess the capability to build a nuclear powered submarine,' the prime minister said. The other countries are the US, Russia, China, France and Britain.

'The construction of a submarine is a highly demanding task by itself. For the country to develop its first nuclear submarine is a special achievement.

'I congratulate the Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV) Programme and all personnel associated with it for achieving a historic milestone in the country's defence preparedness. Today's launch is a reflection of the immense technical expertise that exists in our country and the strength of our research and development organisations,' the prime minister said.

'We do not have any aggressive designs nor do we seek to threaten anyone. We seek an external environment in our region and beyond that is conducive to our peaceful development and the protection of our value systems.

'Nevertheless it is incumbent upon us to take all measures necessary to safeguard our country and to keep pace with technological advancements worldwide. It has rightly been said that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty,' he added.

The submarine will be commissioned in the Indian Navy after extensive outfitting and sea trials. It is the first of three such vessels to be built in the country and marks a quantum leap in India's shipbuilding capabilities.

He also said the government was 'fully committed to ensuring the defence of our national interests and the protection of our territorial integrity'. 'We will continue to render all support to the constant modernization of our armed forces and to ensuring that they remain at the cutting edge of technology.'

July 26 is annually commemorated as Kargil Victory Day to mark the Indian Army's success in pushing back Pakistani raiders who had occupied the border area in Jammu and Kashmir in 1999 that led to a military conflict in which at least 500 Indians soldiers died.

Indian Navy will also get a Russian-built Akula class nuclear submarine INS Chakra, expected to be commissioned by this year-end.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Indigenous tank T-90 Bhishma rolls out

-
Image
The first batch of the indigenously built T-90 Bhishma tanks was on Monday (August 24) flagged off by Minister of State for Defence MM Pallam Raju at the rolling out ceremony held at the Heavy Vehicles Factory, Avadi, in Chennai. The T-90S tank incorporates many new technologies in terms of mobility, protection, fighting capabilities, safety and communication. The tank is equipped with 125mm smooth bore gun stabilised in Elevation and Azimuth, 12.7mm anti-craft machine gun and 7.62mm co-axial machine gun supported with high accuracy sighting systems and Automatic Loader ensuring high rate of fire. A significant feature of this tank is its capability to fire guided missile in addition to conventional ammunition using the same main gun barrel. The integrated fire control system consisting of the gunner’s sight, guided weapon system and ballistic computer facilitates accurate firing of conventional ammunitions as well as the guided missiles. The built in Explosive Reactive Arm
Read more

Second only to US IAF & Navy to get DRDO's CHAFF tech for protecting Aircrafts and Ships from enemy missile

-
Image
The Indian Air Force and Navy have partnered with the Defence Research and Development Organisation to acquire the CHAFF technology, which protects warships from anti-ship missiles during combat. After the United States, India is now the second country to develop this capability, signalling a major Aatmanirbhar push in the field of defence. The development is significant because the Indian navy is investigating the sinking of the Russian missile cruiser Moskva and concentrating on how to protect our warships from anti-ship ballistic missiles such as the Chinese DF-21. What exactly is CHAFF? CHAFF is a critical defence technology that protects fighter planes and naval ships from enemy radar-guided missiles during wartime. The importance of this technology stems from the fact that a small amount of CHAFF material deployed in the air acts as a decoy to deflect enemy missiles, ensuring the safety of fighter planes and naval ships. This advanced CHAFF technology was developed by the DRDO to
Read more

India built N-sub in Kalpakkam under codename 'PRP'

-
The secrecy attached to the development of the indigenous nuclear submarine project is almost legendary. What’s little known is the extent to which the Indian N-establishment went to conceal the research not only from the public but also large sections of the scientific community within the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). For almost nine years, most staff working at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) in Kalpakkam believed the Plutonium Recycle Project (PRP) in the complex was used only for that purpose, that is recycling plutonium. But with the launch of INS Arihant on July 25, top DAE officials have finally begun to lift the veil and reveal that they were actually building the core (nuclear reactor and propulsion systems) of the submarine as well as the land-based version of the hull of the indigenous vessel, which served as the technology demonstrator of the main vessel, within the PRP unit. For those in the know, even the term ‘PRP’ denoted the N-sub.
Read more