国际英语新闻：India launches first indigenous built nuclear attack submarine

NEW DELHI, July 26 (Xinhua) -- India Sunday launched its first home-made nuclear-powered attack submarine in what Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said a process to strengthen the country's military preparedness.

    Singh personally chaired the launching ceremony at the navy port of Visakhapatnam, southern India, during which his wife Gursharan Kaur broke a coconut and did a prayer to mark the launch of INS Arihant. the 6,000-ton, 110-meter long and 11-meter wide warship capable of carrying 100 sailors, said a senior navy officer.

    "It marks a quantum leap in India's shipbuilding capabilities and let the country join the elite club which can build nuclear powered attack submarines -- the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain," said the officer on condition of anonymity.

    The submarine was housed in a dry dock, which was flooded with sea water to mark the launching ceremony, said the officer.

    The submarine will be commissioned in the Indian Navy as INS Arihant, which translates as "destroyer of enemies", after extensive outfitting and sea trial, he added.

    It is the first of three such vessels to be built in the country. Hitherto, submarines have been built here under licence from their foreign designers.

    Singh later told top navy brasses that the sea was increasingly relevant in the context of India's security interests, and India must "re-adjust its military preparedness to this changing environment", according to private Indo-Asian News Service.

    "The Indian Navy has a huge responsibility (in this process)," the prime minister was quoted as saying at the headquarters of the Indian Navy's Eastern Command at Visakhapatnam, Andhara Pradesh in southern India.

    "We do not have any aggressive designs nor do we seek to threaten anyone. We seek an external environment in our region, and beyond that is conducive to our peaceful development and the protection of our value systems," Singh was quoted as saying.

    The submarine is capable of firing missiles and torpedoes. It is fitted with latest weapons and sensors. The steel for the submarine was cut in 1998.

    Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony said that the "present situation in our neighborhood" demanded greater acquisition of strategic assets, according to the news service.

    The Russian help in the project was profusely appreciated by the prime minister, said the news service.