India Launches Nuclear Powered Submarine for Trials

India Launches Nuclear Powered Submarine for Trials - Anjana Pasricha, Voice of America.

India has launched its first indigenously built nuclear-powered submarine capable of firing ballistic missiles. The submarine, once in service, will give the country the capability to fire nuclear weapons from sea besides land and air. The Indian navy flooded a dry dock in the southern port city of Visakhapatnam to send out the nuclear-powered submarine named Arihant, for extensive sea trials in the Bay of Bengal. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who launched the submarine, called it a "historic milestone in the country's defense preparedness. It has taken India nearly two decades to develop the Arihant, which means "Destroyer of Enemies." It has been built with technical assistance from Russia. Defense officials say Arihant is powered by a nuclear reactor, and will be armed with ballistic missiles. It will carry a crew of about 100 men. New Delhi-based National Maritime Foundation director Uday Bhaskar says the launch is an important technological step putting India in a small group of nations capable of designing and building nuclear-powered submarines. But he stresses that it could be several years before the submarine is inducted into the Indian navy.