Deterrence from Depth: SSBNs in India’s Nuclear Strategy Anubhav Shankar Goswami

India has just commissioned its second SSBN, INS Arighaat. Its first SSBN, INS Arihant, has been operational for almost a decade now. Two more boats of the Arihant class are at various stages of construction. This burgeoning capability will together form the ultimate guarantor of India’s nuclear deterrence. The credibility and ‘invulnerability’ of the boats, therefore, is a sine quo non. In this context, the book tries to determine the best deployment strategy that India can consider to make its SSBNs more survivable. The primary SSBN deployment strategy is the open-ocean patrol. An alternative to that is the bastion strategy where SSBNs operate in secure home waters. Both strategies could be operationalised with at least one submarine continuously on patrol to enhance the credibility of undersea retaliatory capability. Either of the two strategies have fair share of benefits and downsides, and therefore, the book examines the US, Russia, UK, France and China’s experience with bastions and open-ocean patrol. Based on their experience, the book attempts to recommend policy options for India’s silent guardians without overlooking India’s unique nuclear doctrine, security threat and geography.