India is close to becoming the world's sixth country to put a nuclear-armed attack submarine into operation, a move that would give it a leg up on neighboring Pakistan and intensify a race for more underwater weapons in Asia.
The 6,000-ton Arihant, developed over the past three decades under a secret government program, is completing its final trials in the Bay of Bengal, according to a senior navy officer who declined to be identified because he is not authorized to speak about the program. The vessel will be operated by the navy yet remain under the direct control of India's Nuclear Command Authority headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The deployment would complete India's nuclear triad, allowing it to deliver atomic weapons from land, sea and air. Only the U.S. and Russia are considered full-fledged nuclear triad powers now, with China and India's capabilities still largely untested.