India?s launch of its first nuclear-powered submarine deserves to be celebrated. This puts us in an exclusive club earlier limited to just five countries and?once the submarine is in service?it gives us a secure underwater platform for firing nuclear weapons (to add to land and air launch capabilities). Rightly called an historic milestone in India?s defence preparedness by the Prime Minister, some have been criticising the Arihant, or ?destroyer of enemies?, for being nearly 20 years in the making. Delayed deliveries have indeed marred India?s defence procurement in general. The defence minister recently warned Israel and Russia (the two countries involved in the deal) for not keeping to the schedule on delivering Awacs, and the latter has also got lots of bad press on account of the delays and associated cost escalations concerning the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier. Meanwhile, India has itself contributed chaos by repeatedly posting bids, only to cancel them, making for a slow and disordered acquisition process that nullifies many gains of increased defence budgets. In the case of Arihant, however, we must appreciate that the process of putting together a complex enterprise such as a nuclear submarine on an indigenous scale necessarily involves years of investment.
These creatures of the deep?nuclear submarines?are of the most secretive sort. Consider how the British HMS Vanguard ?rubbed? against the French Le Triomphant this February (each carrying an estimated 50 nuclear warheads each), with neither government willing to reveal the hows, whens and whys of the event. And this event involved allies. Allies who had been completely cagey about the whereabouts of their submerged weapons. That the levels of concealment were so absolute is testament to the submarines? efficacy. The French defence minister said they make less noise than a crab. India?s super neighbour, China, boasts ten such vehicles in a fleet of around 62 submarines, having put out three new submarines a year since 1995. That?s in contrast to our ageing fleet of 16 non-nuclear submarines. To counter this ?major power adversary?, as Australia calls China, Canberra has unveiled a $74-billion, 20-year plan. By bringing the hitherto top-secret advanced technology vessel project into the open, India, too, is signalling a much-needed military preparedness for an antagonistic environment. This coming out also adds an interesting addendum to Indo-Russian defence relations. Notwithstanding the aforesaid bad press and India?s crucial westwards turn, cooperation on the nuclear submarine front shows this historic relationship still bears vital signs of life.
