Arihant-class SSBN - News & Discussions

How do indian SSBNs like the newest S4 and future S5 class subs compare to Chinese Type 094 or the new Type 096 , perhaps a comparison to the french ones would be good..
Indian SSBN are much quieter than Chinese Nuclear subs by a whole generation & the upcoming S-5 will be on par with their western counterparts.
 
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How? Chinese have been building nuclear subs since the 70s tho it was an attack sub but the reactor tech is mostly the same ig.
So what if China started building submarines before India ? Does that automatically make China ahead of India ? According to whom, You 🤨 ?.... There is plenty of open source data on the acoustic noise (dB) levels of Chinese submarines, including their latest generation boats. The Akula class submarine leased to India by Russia was more than 3 decades ahead of China's best nuclear submarines in terms of acoustic stealth. All Arihant class submarines built after the ATV prototype have achieved Akula level quieting, if not better. Simply building submarines earlier does not automatically translate into superior submarine technology or overall capability.
 
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So what if China started building submarines before India ? Does that automatically make China ahead of India ? According to whom, You 🤨 ?.... There is plenty of open source data on the acoustic noise (dB) levels of Chinese submarines, including their latest generation boats. The Akula class submarine leased to India by Russia was more than 3 decades ahead of China's best nuclear submarines in terms of acoustic stealth. All Arihant class submarines built after the ATV prototype have achieved Akula level quieting, if not better. Simply building submarines earlier does not automatically translate into superior submarine technology or overall capability.
? no? the S5 class SSBN is on par with the new class SSBN by China the same way the S4 is on par with the current gen. Your being delusional/ are ragebaiting.
 
So what if China started building submarines before India ? Does that automatically make China ahead of India ? According to whom, You 🤨 ?.... There is plenty of open source data on the acoustic noise (dB) levels of Chinese submarines, including their latest generation boats. The Akula class submarine leased to India by Russia was more than 3 decades ahead of China's best nuclear submarines in terms of acoustic stealth. All Arihant class submarines built after the ATV prototype have achieved Akula level quieting, if not better. Simply building submarines earlier does not automatically translate into superior submarine technology or overall capability.
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Not sure if this is S5
 
How? Chinese have been building nuclear subs since the 70s tho it was an attack sub but the reactor tech is mostly the same ig.

Nuclear subs doesn't mean that it's mechanical parts will also be silent acoustically. One example: Simple propeller needs to be designed and coated with some materials in such a way that both suction side and vortex cavitation don't damage the propeller fins and create noise. They are very very loud on passive sonar detection.
 
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View attachment 52784
Not sure if this is S5

Where is this pic from?

Yes, it's one of the known S-5 models.


Bro, look where the raised 'hump' ends on the S4 and where it ends on the model. See how little space there is after the raised section on the model compared to S4. Perspective cannot account for all of it.

The taper toward the stern begins almost immediately after the raised section ends on the model. But not on the S4.


Those white/grey tube-like things on the model are test fixtures that attach to a control rig designed to keep it steady at a particular depth or to assist in pitch/yaw movements, like this:

PMM test submarine .png

SUBPMM_Otter.png

^^ The 2nd pic is an AUV but the principle is the same. It's called captive planar motion testing.

Those fixtures do not correspond to missile tubes. You can see there's one even all the way at the back of the raised section, where the reactor is supposed to be.

Hmm not sure why everyone thinks this image is of new S5 design though

Cuz the geometry of the raised section & the part of the hull behind it do not match with any existing boat.

An SSN even with VLS would not require a raised section, let alone one of this length. Hence, has to be SSBN.

How many SSBN programs are we working on who's design would not match with existing boats? Just one - the S5.

The original S5 model was seen for the first time in 2019. It wasn't inconceivable that some evolution may have happened between then and the first time this newer model was seen (2023-24).

Additionally, we now have confirmation that K-5 is making a huge leap in diameter (2.4m) of the missile body compared to K-4 (only 1.3m). In fact we know the diameter is going to be even bigger than Agni-5 (2.0m). This points toward a major effort to keep the length of the missile in check.

That corresponds well with the newer model having a much more streamlined hump than the previous one. It was likely redesigned keeping developments in the SLBM program in mind.

Note that all this is just me trying to connect the dots to draw a picture (that's what analysis is, for the most part). I cannot say that I 100% know for sure if this model is the S5, or if even the previous model was S5. For all I know, these are all just generic variations that we've been testing so that our hydrodynamic facilities gain as much workflow experience as possible.

For all I know, the real S5 design has never been seen by public.

But that's no fun. You must understand how tightly controlled these ATV program office images are. The number of actual ground-level photos that exist of the Arihant-class after over a decade of being in operation can be counting on the fingers of one hand. So when this office decides to randomly release an image, you have to think that it was done with a purpose.