India’s Strategic Strike Nuclear Submarine completes First Deterrence Patrol

India’s Strategic Strike Nuclear Submarine (SSBN) INS Arihant or SSBN 80, recently returned from its first deterrence patrol, completing the establishment of the country’s survivable nuclear triad.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the crew and all involved in the achievement which puts India among a handful of countries having the capability to design, construct and operate SSBNs. The Prime Minister noted that the indigenous development of the SSBN and its operationalisation attest to the country’s technological prowess and the synergy and coordination among all concerned

India has put in place a nuclear command and control structure, safety assurance architecture and strict political control, under its Nuclear Command Authority. “It remains committed to the doctrine of Credible Minimum Deterrence and No First Use, as enshrined in the decision taken by the Cabinet Committee on Security in its meeting chaired by the then Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee on January 04, 2003,” read a communiqué from the Government.