India: INS Arihant to Testfire Nuclear Capable BO-5 Missile

DRDO chief Avinash Chander stated today the indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant is set to be launched for sea trials "in a month or two" and it will test-fire the submarine-launched nuclear capable ballistic missile BO-5. The medium-range nuclear missile BO-5 has a range of over 700 km-range.

He was asked about the present status of the indigenous nuclear submarine programme under which at least three Arihant-Class nuclear underwater vessels would be built for the Navy: "During the trial phase, the Arihant will testfire the fully-developed BO-5 missile as part of the sea trials," he said. INS Arihant has been undergoing trials at Navy's key submarine base in Vishakhapatnam and has cleared most of its harbour acceptance trials.

Once inducted, the submarine will help the country complete its Nuclear Triad giving it the capability to respond to nuclear strikes from sea, land and air-based systems. "Triad" means the ability to fire nuclear-tipped missiles from land, air and sea-based weapon platforms. This nuclear submarine will help India achieve the capability of going into high seas without the need to surface the vessel for a long duration. Conventional diesel-electric submarines have to come up on surface at regular intervals for charging the cells of the vessel.