The Virginia class, or the SSN-774 class, is the newest class of nuclear-powered cruise missile fast attack submarines in service with the United States Navy. The class is designed for a broad spectrum of open-ocean and littoral missions, including anti-submarine warfare and intelligence gathering operations. They are scheduled to replace older Los Angeles-class submarines, many of which have already been decommissioned. Virginia-class submarines will be acquired through 2043, and are expected to remain in service until at least 2060, with later submarines expected to operate into the 2070s.
A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. These submarines became a major weapon system in the Cold War because of their nuclear deterrence capability. They can fire missiles thousands of kilometers from their targets, and acoustic quieting makes them difficult to detect, thus making them a survivable deterrent in the event of a first strike and a key element of the mutual assured destruction policy of nuclear deterrence. The deployment of ballistic missile submarines is dominated by the United States and Russia. Smaller numbers are in service with France, the United Kingdom, China and India; North Korea is also suspected to have an experimental submarine that is diesel-electric powered.
An attack submarine or hunter-killer submarine is a submarine specifically designed for the purpose of attacking and sinking other submarines, surface combatants and merchant vessels. In the Soviet and Russian navies they were and are called "multi-purpose submarines". They are also used to protect friendly surface combatants and missile submarines. Some attack subs are also armed with cruise missiles, increasing the scope of their potential missions to include land targets.
A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear-armed. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" submarines. Nuclear propulsion, being completely independent of air, frees the submarine from the need to surface frequently, as is necessary for conventional submarines. The large amount of power generated by a nuclear reactor allows nuclear submarines to operate at high speed for long periods, and the long interval between refuelings grants a range virtually unlimited, making the only limits on voyage times being imposed by such factors as the need to restock food or other consumables.
A nuclear navy, or nuclear-powered navy, refers to the portion of a navy consisting of naval ships powered by nuclear marine propulsion. The concept was revolutionary for naval warfare when first proposed. Prior to nuclear power, submarines were powered by diesel engines and could only submerge through the use of batteries. In order for these submarines to run their diesel engines and charge their batteries they would have to surface or snorkel. The use of nuclear power allowed these submarines to become true submersibles and unlike their conventional counterparts, they became limited only by crew endurance and supplies.
The Barracuda class is a class of nuclear attack submarines, designed by the French shipbuilder Naval Group for the French Navy. It is intended to replace the Rubis-class submarines. Construction began in 2007 and the first unit was commissioned on 6 November 2020. The lead boat of the class, Suffren, entered service on 3 June 2022.
An SSN is a nuclear-powered general-purpose attack submarine. SSN is the US Navy hull classification symbol for such vessels; the SS denotes a submarine and the N denotes nuclear power. The designation SSN is used for interoperability throughout NATO under STANAG 1166, though navies use other terms.
The Arihant-class is a class of Indian nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines being built for the Indian Navy. They were developed under the ₹900 billion (US$11 billion) Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project to design and build nuclear-powered submarines. These vessels are classified as 'strategic strike nuclear submarines' by India.
Nerpa is a 8,140-tonne (8,010-long-ton) Project 971 nuclear-powered attack submarine. The construction of the submarine was started in Russia in 1993, but was suspended due to lack of funding. India then sponsored further construction and sea trials of the submarine provided it was leased to the Indian Navy for 10 years. It was launched as K-152 Nerpa in October 2008 and entered service with the Russian Navy in late 2009. The submarine was leased to the Indian Navy in 2011 after extensive trials, and was formally commissioned into service as INS Chakra with the Eastern Naval Command at a ceremony in Visakhapatnam on 4 April 2012. In June 2021 Chakra was spotted on the surface escorted by Indian and Russian warships in the Singapore Strait while presumably heading towards the Russian naval base in Vladivostok; some media speculated that she was returning to Russia before the expiry of the lease term.
INS Arihant, designated S2 Strategic Strike Nuclear Submarine, is the lead ship of India's Arihant class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. The 6,000 tonne vessel was built under the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project at the Ship Building Centre in the port city of Visakhapatnam.
INS Vishal, also known as Indigenous Aircraft Carrier 3 (IAC-3), is a planned aircraft carrier to be built by Cochin Shipyard Limited for the Indian Navy. It is intended to be the third aircraft carrier to be built in India after INS Vikrant (IAC-1) and another Vikrant-class aircraft carrier, provisionally called (IAC-2). The proposed design of this class will be a new design, featuring significant changes from Vikrant, including an increase in size and displacement. An Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) CATOBAR system is also under consideration. Its name Vishal means 'grand' in Sanskrit.
INS Varsha is a new naval base being developed under Project Varsha for the Indian Navy. This base will be the home of the navy's new fleet of nuclear submarines and ships. It was planned to be located within a radius of approximately 200 kilometres from Visakhapatnam, the headquarters of the navy's Eastern Naval Command. Previous news reports suggested that Gangavaram had been the initial site for the new base. The base is now being developed at Rambilli, which is 50 km from Visakhapatnam.
INS Arighat is an upgraded variant of the Arihant-class submarine. It is the second nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine being built by India under the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project to build nuclear submarines at the Ship Building Centre in Visakhapatnam. It has the code name S3.
The Indian Navy has been focusing on developing indigenous platforms, systems, sensors and weapons as part of the nation's modernisation and expansion of its maritime forces. As of November 2023, the Indian Navy has 67 vessels of various types under construction including destroyers, frigates, corvettes, conventional-powered and nuclear-powered submarines and various other ships. It plans to build up to a total of 200 vessels and 500 aircraft by 2050. According to Chief of Naval Staff's statement in December 2020, India has transformed from a buyer's navy to a builder's navy.
Project-75 (India), simply referred to as the P-75(I) program, is a military acquisition initiative affiliated to India's Ministry of Defence (MoD), aimed at the planned procurement of diesel-electric submarines for the Indian Navy (IN). Originally conceived in 1997, the initiative's objective has been to procure a class of six conventionally-powered attack submarines for the Indian Navy Submarine Arm, as a replacement for the force's Sindhughosh-class submarines.
Álvaro Alberto, Brazil's first nuclear-powered attack submarine, is part of a strategic partnership signed between France and Brazil on 23 December 2008 by then-presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Nicolas Sarkozy, that created the Submarine Development Program, a naval modernization plan of the Brazilian Armed Forces. The boat is the fifth unit of the Riachuelo-class, based on the French Scorpène-class. The submarine is being constructed by the Brazilian state-owned naval company ICN. Once Álvaro Alberto is completed, Brazil will be the seventh country in the world to field nuclear submarines.
S5 is the code name for a planned class of Indian nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines currently being developed for Indian Navy. S5 will weigh around twice as much as the preceding Arihant-class submarine. It is expected to start production by 2027.
K-5 is a submarine-launched ballistic missile under development by Defence Research and Development Organisation of India. The missile has a planned range of around 5,000-6,000 kilometres.
The SSN-AUKUS, also known as the SSN-A, is a planned class of nuclear-powered fleet submarine (SSN) intended to enter service with the United Kingdom's Royal Navy in the late 2030s and Royal Australian Navy in the 2040s. The class will replace the UK's Astute class and Australia's Collins class submarines.
Indian Navy (Planned)
