BHUBANESWAR: India has successfully test-fired indigenously-developed long-range nuclear-capable ballistic missile K-4 from a home- grown submarine positioned at a disclosed location in the Bay of Bengal, making it a strategic player in the South East Asia region.
Defence sources said, the submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) was flight-tested by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) from INS Arighat on Wednesday. The INS Arighat is a 6,000-tonne nuke-powered submarine that was commissioned in the Armed Forces in August.
Code-named after former President APJ Abdul Kalam, the missile with a strike range of over 3,500 and designed for precision targeting and deterrence, is capable of striking deep into enemy territory while being launched from a stealth underwater platform.
Developed by DRDO, the missile successfully hit its target in the Indian Ocean region with high accuracy. “The notice to airmen was issued for a range of 3,490 km, marking the missile’s full length. The weapon tested in full operational configuration covered close to the coordinated distance, demonstrating India’s technological and operational readiness,” sources told The New Indian Express.
This successful test underlines India’s strategic deterrence capabilities, enhancing its security posture in the Indo-Pacific region. It also positioned India among an elite group of six nations possessing SLBM technology, a crucial component of a credible nuclear triad. Other countries having the capability are the US, Russia, China, France and the UK.
Defence experts said the ability to launch nuclear-tipped weapons from submarines ensures greater survivability as compared to land or air-based systems and aligns with India’s ‘no first use’ nuclear policy that focuses on credible deterrence without aggressive intent.
The solid-fuelled K-4 missile with the features of boost-glide flight is hard to detect and can defeat any anti-ballistic missile system. Equipped with satellite updates to modify accumulated errors from its inertial navigation system, the weapon system is dangerous in terms of lethality and one-of-its-kind in the world.
The 10-metre-long missile with a diameter of 1.5 metre weighs around 20 tonne and can carry warheads upto 2.5 tonne. The New Indian Express was the first to report the missile’s successful trial from a submerged pontoon (replica of a submarine) off Visakhapatnam coast in March 2016.