Masterplan by PM Modi as India eyes for a Nuclear Submarine Base in…, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan will be in big trouble, base to cost…

New Delhi: In a major strategic move that promises to boost the country’s defense sector, India is mulling commissioning its strategically important new naval base on the eastern coast in Andhra Pradesh next year. The naval base promises to serve nuclear submarines and other warships. It is important to note that the move comes amid China’s steadily growing naval presence in the Indian Ocean region. Simultaneously, India is also progressively advancing the already established Karwar base on the western coast in coastal Karnataka.

The base is located near the small coastal village of Rambilli, about 50 km south of the Eastern Naval Command headquarters in Visakhapatnam on the eastern seaboard. This strategic base houses a network of underground enclosures and tunnels for accommodating nuclear submarines.

According to the reports, the base will enable submarines to silently enter the Bay of Bengal, evading detection by spy satellites, and carry out patrolling operations in the crucial Malacca Strait and beyond. A source stated that the first phase of the Rambilli base under Project Varsha is nearly complete. Once operational in 2026, it can be expanded and upgraded in phases—just like the work being done at the Karwar base under Project Seabird.

At the same time, there is also a plan to eventually build a 13,500-ton SSBN, which will be equipped with a more powerful 190-megawatt pressurized light-water reactor instead of the existing 83-megawatt one, as previously reported by TOI.

Here are some of the key details:

  • India is planning to commission its strategically important new naval base on the eastern coast in Andhra Pradesh next year.
  • The base will enable submarines to silently enter the Bay of Bengal, evading detection by spy satellites, and carry out patrolling operations in the crucial Malacca Strait and beyond.
  • It has taken over a decade to reach this stage after overcoming major technical, environmental, and other challenges in the construction of the nuclear submarine base.
  • The inner harbor is ready. Work is progressing on the outer harbor with the expected breakwater and jetty.
  • Alongside this, India will also induct its third nuclear-powered submarine armed with nuclear ballistic missiles—referred to as SSBN in naval terminology—INS Aridhaman, into the Navy this year.
  • It has a displacement capacity of 7,000 tons. This will further strengthen the underwater leg of the country’s nuclear triad.
  • In October last year, the Cabinet Committee on Security, led by the Prime Minister, also approved the construction of two 9,800-tonne nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs)
  • It will cost a whopping Rs 40,000 crore.
  • The final plan includes six SSNs, which will be equipped with non-nuclear missiles and other weapons for conventional warfare.

    On the western coast, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday inaugurated additional operational, repair, and logistics facilities worth over ₹2,000 crore at the Karwar Naval Base under Project Seabird. These facilities provide the Navy with both strategic depth and operational flexibility, especially against Pakistan.

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