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India's nuclear sub still a distant dream

Josy Joseph in New Delhi

India's dream project of building a nuclear submarine is still far from fruition, according to naval sources, security analysts and other officials who are currently discussing the hidden dangers of submarines, especially nuclear-powered ones.

While the implications of the sinking of the Russian nuclear submarine, the Kursk, in the Barents Sea are being animatedly discussed in Naval Headquarters, there is hushed silence on the Advanced Technology Vessel, a euphemism for India's more than two decades old project to build a nuclear sub.

The project is a national secret, with the last person to officially speak about it -- former navy chief Vishnu Bhagwat -- being sacked for, among other things, leaking out a national secret.

But reliable sources told rediff.com that the project is "almost a decade away" from completion.

They said the project is "yet to make any major breakthrough". The nuclear reactor, a key component for the submarine, is yet to be land-tested. Only after successful completion of the land tests can the project make any headway.

The sources said, "Still there are problems in miniaturizing the nuclear reactor for the sub and giving the right containment." Besides, this miniaturized reactor will have to be made compatible with the hull design.

'The critical "benchmark" for the ATV project will be the successful conduct of the land test of the submarine's nuclear reactor. Ground and technical facilities for such a test have already been established at Kalpakkam,' says naval analyst Rahul Roy-Chaudhary in his recently published book India's Maritime Security.

'If the land test of the nuclear reactor, expected shortly, is successful, then the keel of the ATV could be laid in the next two to three years, with the launch of the boat six or seven years later, by 2007-8,' he adds.

But several other naval analysts do not share even this cautious optimism. Rear Admiral (retd) Raja Menon, himself a submariner, says he is unsure when the ATV will be ready. "It needs to be discussed at length," he said, pointing out that nuclear submarines are urgently needed in the changing security environment.

Submarine-launched nuclear weapons constitute the most reliable second-strike capability, which India is desperately seeking to acquire as it has already declared that it will never be the first to use nuclear weapons.

The project is being executed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation, the Department of Atomic Energy and the Indian Navy. The navy has a dedicated team, headed by Vice-Admiral Bharat Bhushan, to work on the dream project.

DRDO sources claim to have completed the ATV's design. They are now working on the configuration and hull structure. There is, however, no independent confirmation of this.

But sources in the navy say, "If the DRDO's success rate on high technology is anything to go by, success may not be immediate".

The DRDO's costly project to develop the Indian Army's main battle tank, Arjun, was all but a failure, though some 100 tanks are being produced now. Worse has been the fate of the organisation's other dream projects, including the Light Combat Aircraft for the Indian Air Force.

The nuclear reactor for the submarine is being developed at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, with its assembly likely to be done at Kalpakkam near Madras. The pressurised heavy water reactor of 190 MW will use uranium enriched up to 20 per cent.

The uranium for the sub's power plant will be obtained from India's natural uranium heavy-water reactors, which produce electricity at atomic power stations in Rajasthan, Madras, Narora and Kakrapar, says Roy-Chaudhury.

To boost the project, India leased a nuclear sub from Russia in 1988, thus becoming the first country outside the five nuclear powers to operate a nuclear submarine. The deal was struck by Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on the navy's persuasion. The sub was with the navy till 1991, when it went back on completion of the three-year lease.

INS Chakra, a Charlie-I class nuclear submarine, was operated by the navy to gain the experience of operating such a vessel. The Indian ATV is believed to have a lot in common with the Russian sub, though officially no technology transfer has taken place.

After spending over Rs 20 billion and facing severe criticism, the DRDO, through the Government of India, recently contacted both France and Russia to seek assistance for the project. It is not known if either of them has agreed to help.

In 1998, Admiral Bhagwat had ordered a technical audit of the project, which had by then already cost more than Rs 2 billion. The government accused him of leaking out a national secret and dismissed him. The outcome of the audit is also not known.

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