A new naval base being developed under Project Varsha for the Indian Navy. This base will
be the home of the navy's new fleet of nuclear submarines and ships. It is planned to be
located within a radius of approximately 200 kilometers (124.27 miles) from Visakhapatnam,
the headquarters of the navy's Eastern Naval Command.
The most important aspect of the base is that, it will have underground facility to host submarines.
The development is significant , since India
will be inducting 18 -20 new submarines to counter China’s naval might.
The biggest advantage of having underwater deep bases is that the submarines do not need
to surface on the water for maintenance. Unlike airbases ,the underground bases are
immune to surveillance from satellites, drones, spy planes.
This provides a significant strategic edge, as rival nation don’t know how many submarines
are battle ready and how many are docked.
The base will have undisclosed access tunnels on the mouth .The submarines can come and
go from the base through these underwater tunnels.
Just like shipyard , the underground base have all the infrastructure required for maintenance
of the submarines.
A very important thing to note is that ,the base will also have jetties that are meant
for degaussing submarines.
Degaussing is the process of decreasing or eliminating a remnant magnetic field.
A sea-going metal-hulled ship or submarine, by its very nature, develops a magnetic signature
as it travels, due to a magneto-mechanical interaction with Earth's magnetic field.
It also picks up the magnetic orientation of the earth's magnetic field where it is build.
This signature can be exploited by magnetic mines or facilitate the detection of a submarine
by ships or aircraft with magnetic anomaly detection (MAD) equipment.
Navies use degaussing, as a countermeasure against this.
It is still highly classified that how big and capable, the underground base would be
but the base reportedly could dock some 8-12 submarines .Varsha would be capable of housing
other vessels of navy as well like destroyers, frigates and replenishment ships.
Here is the list of new submarines , India will be deploying as part of different projects:
1. Indian government has approved the construction of 6 indigenous nuclear powered attack submarines
These will be designed by the Navy's in-house Directorate of Naval Design Shipbuilding
Centre & build at Visakhapatnam under ‘Make in India’ initiative.
2. India has also decided to construct two more nuclear powered Arihant-class , which can carry nuclear missile.
3. As part of Project 75, , 6 French Spanish
Scorpion Submarine is being constructed. ‘Kalvari’, the first of the Scorpion class submarines,
built at the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd Mumbai (MDL), went to sea for the first time on 1st May.
4. Work on Project 75I-class submarine which
is a follow-on of the Project 75 is also underway. Under this project, the Indian Navy intends
to acquire 6 diesel-electric submarines, which will also feature advanced Air Independent
Propulsion (AIP) systems. This enable them to stay submerged for longer duration and
substantially increase their operational range. Germany, Russia, Spain, France & Japan are
competing with their respective submarines
So in total 20 new submarines are in pipeline for the Indian Navy.
A nuclear powered submarine equipped with nuclear missiles is the most potent leg of
nuclear triad. Submarines are the most secure platform of
nuclear deterrence. They can keep loitering in the deep ocean
that covers two-thirds of the globe , safely cloaked by several hundred feet of water & its
exact location known only to a few of men onboard.
The unground bases can make them even harder to detect. As India embark on the deploying
more & more submarines and equip them with K4 nuclear missile,
the underground base will have a major part in maintaining the operational secrecy
of the submarines.