Rajnath Singh on Saturday laid the foundation stone for the Large Cavitation Tunnel (LCT) facility at the Naval Science & Technological Laboratory, a DRDO laboratory located in Visakhapatnam.India has been strengthening its submarine capabilities indigenously. INS Aridaman’s induction into the navy has strengthened India’s nuclear triad along with land based missiles and fighters. Of the three systems mentioned, the submarine is considered the most difficult to track because it can hide deep beneath the waves. The Aridaman is classified as a ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) and is designed to launch a salvo of up to eight nuclear-armed K-4 missiles that can annihilate a target as far as 3,500 km away.
The Aridaman is the third Arihant-class submarine, and this series of submarines will be followed by the more powerful S-5 class of SSBNs.At the same time, the navy is committed to the Project-77 class of Nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) as well as the Project-76 class conventional diesel-electric powered submarines (SSK). The navy is expected to procure at least 22 of these domestically produced submarines.
The true strength of submarines is their ability to silently stay underwater and strike unannounced at their prey. The ability of a submarine to quietly stalk a ship and sink it was recently demonstrated when an American submarine sank Iranian frigate IRIS Dena off the coast of Sri Lanka last month. As reports suggest, the ship was unaware of the submarine’s presence when it was tracked and sunk in a classic operation.Conversely, a lot of effort is put into anti-submarine warfare. The best way to detect submarines is acoustically and one of the biggest tells here is the sound created as the propeller churns through the water. Countries maintain extensive up to date threat libraries of the propeller sounds of ships and submarines. With the help of the LCT, DRDO will be able to test new designs and improve on them to make upcoming Indian submarines quieter.
This will be done in house without revealing data to any foreign country whose facility India would have otherwise used to conduct these tests.“This facility is not merely an infrastructure project, but an enabling system, which will strengthen our capabilities in advancing propulsion systems, enable focused efforts on noise reduction and further strengthen stealth capabilities. It will serve as a foundational backbone for the design and development of submarines & ships, supporting future advancements in naval engineering and maritime defence systems,” Rajnath Singh said while laying the foundation stone.Through this facility, DRDO will be able to conduct critical simulations for submarine studies and for surface vessels as well in an integrated set up. The facility will significantly improve India’s ship building research and capability by validating hydrodynamic designs and propulsion systems. At the same time through the use of these facilities, Indian designed submarines will become more discreet as they silently patrol the depths keeping India’s adversaries at bay.
