Navy sets up base to monitor submarines during long-range patrols | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: India recently commissioned its second nuclear-powered submarine INS Arigate As part of a plan to expand both its strategic and conventional underwater combat fleets, the Navy is now setting up a new state-of-the-art facility to communicate seamlessly with its stealthy predators during long-range patrols.
The very low frequency (VLF) transmitting station at Vikarabad in Telangana will be inaugurated by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on October 15. clock-encrypted communication connectivity with submerged submarines across India’s area of ​​interest,” a source told TOI.
“VLF radio waves, which operate in a frequency band of 3 to 30 kilohertz, can penetrate seawater to a certain depth for such purposes,” he added. Only a few countries have such VLF capabilities, which are especially crucial for the command and control of nuclear submarines used for long-range deterrent patrols.
The Navy has been operating a VLF station at Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu since 1990. The new state-of-the-art VLF facility at Vikarabad is necessary for “maintaining 24x7x365 communications” for the planned introduction of both diesel-electric and nuclear applications. submarines, with a keen eye on increasing Chinese naval incursions in the Indian Ocean (IOR).
On August 29, India had introduced its second 6,000-ton SSBN (nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine) INS Ariglaat, which can also carry K-4 missiles with a range of about 3,500 km. Its predecessor INS Arihant is armed only with the K-15 missiles with a range of 750 km.
India plans to induct the third SSBN, with a displacement of 7,000 tonnes, as INS Aridhaman early next year, while a fourth is also under construction under the secretive Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project. There is also a plan to eventually build 13,500 tonne SSBNs, with much more powerful 190 MW light water reactors, as previously reported by TOI. Moreover, the Prime Minister-led Cabinet Committee on Security also approved the long-pending Rs 40,000 crore ‘Project-77 project’ on October 9.‘ to build two nuclear-powered attack submarines (called SSNs in naval parlance).
On the diesel-electric front, the Navy will induct the sixth French-origin Scorpene submarine ‘Vagsheer’ in December at a cost of over Rs 23,000 crore’Project-75‘ on the way at Mazagon Docks (MDL).