New Delhi India on Tuesday test-fired its 3500 km-range intermediate-range ballistic missile K-4 from its nuclear-powered submarine INS Arighat in the Bay of Bengal, This test was conducted near Visakhapatnam coast, No official statement has been issued by the Ministry of Defense on this test, but sources have confirmed that it was a solid fuel K-4 missile, which is capable of carrying two tonnes of nuclear payload, This missile will play an important role in strengthening the maritime part of India’s nuclear weapon trinity,
Tuesday’s test will be comprehensively analyzed to determine whether all specified technical parameters and mission objectives have been met or missed. Ballistic missiles, especially submarine-launched missiles, require a series of tests to achieve full operational status.
Many of the first tests of the two-stage K-4 missile have been conducted over the years from undersea submersible pontoon platforms. However, it was fired for the first time from INS Arighat in November 2024. INS Arighat is India’s second nuclear-powered submarine, capable of carrying nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles (SSBN in naval parlance). It was commissioned on August 29 last year. This 6,000 tonne submarine is operated by the tri-service Strategic Force Command.
SSBN fleet expansion
Its predecessor submarine INS Arihant, which became fully operational in 2018, can carry only 750 km range K-15 missiles. India will now commission the third SSBN INS Aridman in the first quarter of 2026 and the fourth in 2027-28 under the ongoing confidential over Rs 90,000 crore Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) programme.
These two new SSBNs will be slightly larger than the first two, with a displacement of 7,000 tonnes each. There are also plans to build a 13,500-tonne SSBN in the future, which will be fitted with a more powerful 190 MW pressurized light-water reactor instead of the current 83 MW. Currently India’s SSBNs are less than half the size of those of the US, China and Russia.
Road to K-5 and K-6
Following the operational deployment of the K-4, India will also induct K-5 and K-6 submarine-launched ballistic missiles with a range of 5,000 to 6,000 km. This will help to reduce to some extent the gap that exists with countries like the US, Russia and China, which have intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
strength of nuclear triangle
The other two legs of India’s nuclear triangle are already considered extremely strong. The ground stage has missiles like the Agni-5 with a range of more than 5,000 km, while the Air Force has aircraft like the Rafale, Sukhoi-30 MKI and Mirage-2000, which are capable of carrying nuclear gravity bombs.