Much Denied Sagarika Works

Tuesday marked the day when the make-up of triad probably went into the last lap of a long marathon. Much of Sagarika's existence was denied with "No Comment". But the SLBM was tested underwater, in it's actual form, and it works.

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India on Tuesday proved that it had the capability to launch missiles from underwater by test-firing successfully the Sagarika missile from a pontoon off the coast of Visakhapatnam. The pontoon simulated the conditions of a submarine. Shortly after noon, the missile’s booster ignited and Sagarika rose from the pontoon. Then in a spectacular display of firepower, it cleaved out of the waters of the Bay of Bengal and tore into the atmosphere as the air-booster erupted into life. It impacted the sea over 700 km away. [Sagarika missile test-fired successfully - The Hindu]

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Few weeks ago, India Today had a schematic of the nuclear submarine, called ATV, that would carry Sagarika. (Missiles have wonderful names, but, for some reason, not the carriers - ATV, LCA, ADS. Does that also explain the why the carrier projects take forever while missiles projects were completed in reasonable timeframe? In fact, the integrated missile program is officially shut down because the program is complete - probably a first for GOI) The building of the first ATV, 30-years in the making, has finally been accelerated with the Chinese taking the lead with close to half-dozen or more nuclear submarines in blue water, some in Indian Ocean.