S5-class submarine

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An artistic drawing of the S5-class SSBN.png
An artistic impression of the S5-class submarine
Class overview
OperatorsNaval Ensign of India.svg  Indian Navy
Preceded by Arihant class
Planned3 [1]
General characteristics
Type Nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine
Displacement13,500 tonnes (13,300 long tons; 14,900 short tons) [1]
Propulsion
RangeUnlimited
Armament12-16 × K6 MIRVed SLBM (10,000 km (6,200 mi) to 12,000 km (7,500 mi) range) or K-5 SLBM (5,000–6,000 km or 3,100–3,700 mi range) [4] [1]

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 2022. [1] [5]

Contents

Design

The S5-class of submarines are planned to weigh around 13,500 tonnes (13,300 long tons; 14,900 short tons). [5] They are planned to be armed with up to twelve or sixteen K6 Submarine-launched ballistic missiles, each armed with multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles. [1] [4]

Development

The Government of India made an assessment of India's capability to design and construct a class of three new ballistic missile submarines codenamed S5 in 2006 when it was realised that the reactor and payload capacity of the Arihant-class submarines was limited. These submarines were initially planned to be operationalised beginning in 2021 but were later delayed. This delay had prompted the Indian Government to sanction an additional Arihant-class submarine in 2012 to avoid the idling of the production line. [1]

As per reports on 4 December, 2022, S5-class submarine is to enter production by the year 2027. [6]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Unnithan, Sandeep (10 December 2017). "A peek into India's top secret and costliest defence project, nuclear submarines". India Today . Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  2. "Founder's Day Speech, Director, BARC" (PDF). Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. 30 October 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  3. "DAE (Excellence in Science, Engineering & Technology) Awards 2010" (PDF). BARC Newsletter (322): 33. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 May 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  4. 1 2 "India's Undersea Deterrent". Saurav Jha . 30 March 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  5. 1 2 Pandit, Rajat (5 November 2018). "Nuclear submarine INS Arihant completes patrol, country's N-triad operational". The Times of India . Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  6. "Much improved & bigger 3rd Generation S5 SSBN of the Indian Navy to enter production in 2027". IgMp. 4 December 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.