INS Arihant, India's nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, was reportedly undergoing several repairs after it faced severe damage about 10 months ago. Such was the damage that the submarine has remained away from the sea for about a year.
However, it is now being said that the repair procedure has been completed and Arihant is ready to get back into the waters. Currently at the Vishakhapatnam port, extensive tests have been carried out at the submarine to make sure the damage has completely been repaired and in fact, it was also concluded that the damage wasn't as bad as expected.
The same was confirmed to Sputnik News by a source close to the matter.
So what really happened to INS Arihant that it couldn't sail for about 10 months?
The submarine is said to have been severely damaged due to a "human error." A naval source told the Hindu that the ship's propulsion compartment was mistakenly left open, due to which water rushed into it and damaged the parts. The water is said to have affected several parts, but the secondary loop that transfers power from the ship reactor to the propulsion system was hit the most.
"The damage was thankfully not as bad as it could have been. This is not the first time that Arihant faced such a technological issue. These things happen in the developmental cycle of a new system. The problem has been taken care of," a source told ThePrint.
INS Arihant was launched in 2009 and commissioned in August 2016 and now India is working on its second nuclear submarine – Arighat – which is reportedly being fitted before it starts its trials.
