India’s new nuclear powered submarine INS Aridhaman commissioned

India quietly commissions the INS Aridhaman, its third nuclear-powered submarine, enhancing its strategic defense capabilities.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh presided over a brief ceremony to formally commission the country’s third nuclear submarine, INS Aridhaman (S4), which is the third in the Arihant-class of SSBNs (Submersible Ship Ballistic Nuclear), on Friday (April 3) at Visakhapatnam.

The boat, being part of the strategic weapons programme, falls under the domain of the Strategic Forces and is part of the country’s nuclear triad. As per sources in the Navy, the commissioning was not made public and was carried out quietly, but Mr. Singh dropped enough hints to acknowledge the commissioning of the vessel.

While the event was kept under wraps, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, taking to social media, posted a cryptic message on ‘X’, describing the submarine as: “It’s not words but power, ‘Aridhaman’!”

Sources in the Navy said that the commissioning of INS Aridhaman was on the cards, as the submarine had already undergone extensive sea trials, and it coincided with Mr. Singh’s visit to Visakhapatnam for the commissioning of the stealth guided-missile frigate INS Taragiri on April 3.

The closely guarded SSBN project, initially launched as the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project, is being executed by the Ship Building Centre (SBC) in Visakhapatnam. The first boat was launched in July 2009 and was quietly commissioned in 2016. The second indigenously built SSBN, INS Arighaat, was commissioned in August 2024.

While Arihant and Arighaat are smaller vessels of about 6,000 tonnes, Aridhaman (S4) and S4* are bigger boats of about 7,000 tonnes. The S4* (which may be named Arisudan) is currently undergoing sea trials.