Nuclear submarine INS Arihant's trials going 'very well', says Navy Chief

New Delhi, Apr 30: Sea trials of the first indigenous nuclear-powered submarine, INS Arihant, are going "very well" and the progress in this regard has been satisfactory, Navy Chief Admiral RK Dhowan said today.

"There are no problems in the INS Arihant project. The trials are underway and going on very well. We are satisfied with the way the project is progressing," Dhowan said.

He was talking to mediapersons on the sidelines of the inauguration of a two-day National Aviation Seminar to mark 62 years of naval aviation in the country.

He, however, said he was "not in a position to give timelines with regard to the completion of INS Arihant trials or what happens thereafter".

The trials of the 6,000-tonne vessel which has a 83- Megawatt nuclear reactor were flagged off by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in December last year.

The submarine is expected to be inducted in two years' time if the trials are successfully completed.

Talking about the trials of the first indigenously built Scorpene submarine -- the project being pursued with French assistance -- under the ambitious 'Project 75' programme for making 75 submarines in the country, Dhowan said the "endeavour was to see that the programme continues without any obstacle so that the commissioning of the first submarine is made next year as per the plan".

PTI