India To Commission INS Aridaman, Third Indigenous Nuclear Ballistic Submarine, Says Navy Chief

Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Tripathi has said India is set to commission its third indigenously built nuclear ballistic submarine, INS Aridaman.

"Indigenous nuclear ballistic submarine INS Aridaman would be commissioned very soon," Tripathi said at a press conference ahead of the Navy Day celebrations on Tuesday, according to ANI.

Once it is commissioned, the INS Aridaman will symbolise a major scale-up in India’s sea-based nuclear deterrent. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commissioned the INS Arighaat in August 2024, making INS Aridaman the second upgraded Arihant-class SSBN to enter service.

The Navy chief further added that the submarine's addition to the fleet will strengthen India’s sea-based leg of the nuclear triad, which currently includes INS Arihant and INS Arighaat. This will reinforce strategic stability in the region, maintain peace and play a decisive role in the country's security.

The Admiral also talked about collaborating with navies from other countries and said, "We have conducted 21 bilateral, nine multilateral, and 34 maritime partnership exercises, five corvette deployments, and 13 joint EZT approaches since the last Navy Day", further highlighting three maiden initiatives in the last year.

Vice Admiral K Swaminathan, who was also at the press conference, spoke on Pakistan testing missiles and said that they already knew about their missile launch names P282 and were keeping a close eye.

"It's their claim that it's indigenous for them but we think it's not indigenous for them but if they say so let's believe it. We watched the whole launch and its capabilities," the Vice Admiral was quoted as saying by ANI.

According to Defence Minister Singh, the making of INS Arighaat involved the use of advanced design and manufacturing technology. It was constructed after extensive research and development, utilisation of special materials, complex engineering along with highly skilled workmanship.

Singh underlined that the submarine is distinct because its indigenous systems and equipment were conceptualised, designed, manufactured and integrated by the Indian scientists, industry and Naval personnel.