Current Affairs

New milestone: India's nuclear triad at full strength

06-10-2026 · English

New milestone: India's nuclear triad at full strength

Topics: Defence · 6 October 2026 Current Affairs (UPSC / TNPSC / SSC / RRB)

News

October 2026 reports note that India's nuclear triad, the ability to deliver nuclear weapons from land, air and sea, is now fully operational. The key step was INS Aridhaman, India's third nuclear ballistic-missile submarine, commissioned at Visakhapatnam on 3 April 2026. With three SSBNs, one can always be on patrol, making continuous at-sea deterrence (CASD) possible (this is the assessment of media and analysts; the government does not publish details).

Key facts

LandAgni missiles; Agni-5 MIRV test, Mission Divyastra (March 2024); rail-launched Agni-Prime
AirRafale, Mirage-2000, Su-30MKI fighters
SeaArihant-class SSBNs: INS Arihant (2016), INS Arighaat (2024), INS Aridhaman (2026)
AridhamanAbout 7,000 tonnes; 8 launch tubes, 8 K-4 (3,500 km) or 24 K-15 Sagarika (750 km)
ControlNuclear Command Authority (NCA), Political Council chaired by the PM; Strategic Forces Command (SFC, 2003)

Background

  • Nuclear doctrine (2003): credible minimum deterrence, No First Use, no use against non-nuclear states, and 'massive' retaliation if attacked.
  • Tests: Pokhran-I 'Smiling Buddha' (18 May 1974); Pokhran-II 'Operation Shakti' (11 and 13 May 1998); 11 May is National Technology Day.
  • First triad: the sea leg became operational when INS Arihant finished its first deterrence patrol in 2018. The few countries with a full triad include the USA, Russia, China and India.
  • Second-strike capability: submarines hidden under the sea can strike back even after an enemy's first strike; this is what makes deterrence credible.

Tamil Nadu link: INS Kattabomman, the Navy's Very Low Frequency (VLF) station for talking to submarines, has worked at Vijayanarayanam, Tirunelveli district, since 1990. The 'K' missiles honour 'Missile Man' Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam of Rameswaram. Kalpakkam (Chengalpattu) hosts the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research and the PFBR.

Source: Business Today (3 Apr 2026); ASPI Strategist; Carnegie (Apr 2026)

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