INDIA’S NUCLEAR SHARKS
BRAHMOS-2
Anti-ship cruise missile; max range: 1,500 km
POWERPLANT
1 pressurised water nuclear reactor, delivering 150 MW
PUMP-JET PROPULSOR
A ducted propeller that allows higher speeds by reducing noise of propeller cavitation
DOUBLE HULL
Flexible outer hull profile for speed and non-acoustic stealth
PROJECT 76 NUCLEAR POWERED ATTACK SUBMARINE*
WEAPONS
Eight 533 mm torpedoes + Brahmos-2 anti-ship/ land-attack cruise missiles in VLS tubes
SPEED
10 knots (surfaced)
35 knots (submerged)
UNIT COST
₹ 16,000 cr.
IN SERVICE DATE
First unit by 2032
DISPLACEMENT
Approx. 6,000 tonnes, the weight of a Delhi- class destroyer
CREW
100 sailors
ENDURANCE
Limited only by onboard food supplies. The PowerPoint presentation by navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh at the combined commanders’ conference in Kevadia, Gujarat, on March 6 this year had been some months in the making. For nearly 18 months now, the proposal to indigenously build six nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) for Rs 96,000 crore had been stuck with the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) as senior government officials questioned the need for the platforms during an economic crisis. The navy chief pressed Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the urgency of the programme to build the SSNs, each displacing around 6,000 tonnes and costing around Rs 16,000 crore, as key to
