India has begun construction of its second nuclear submarine at a classified facility in Visakhapatnam.
Top sources told Deccan Chronicle that the keel of the project has been laid and the initial work is on full swing.
The project, launched just 24 months after the first nuclear submarine INS Arihant was commissioned - underlines the great strides the programme has made, sources said.
“The second programme took far lesser time than Arihant to reach the shipyard from the drawing board. This time we had a clear plan and we had learned a lot from our mistakes,” sources said.
Though exact details of the project's progress are not available, it is learnt that fabrication of the hull and body has begun. The reactor has been fabricated with the help of Russia.
The electronics and other systems are all indigenous. “Our DRDO laboratories have come up with inventions that are world class. We don't have to depend on anyone for sonars and such systems,” sources said.
The project is expected to be ready for sea trials by 2015. By that time India would have the Russian submarine on lease and INS Arihant deployed.
Sources, however, felt that the focus must also shift to surface vessels that need to be part of the flotilla that normally accompanies an Air Defence Ship.