India is a major military power, although its military nuclear activities remain shrouded in secrecy. The seventh nation to develop and deploy atomic weapons, it continues to refine its extensive and varied “Make in India” nuclear arsenal under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been in power since May 2014.
Since the 1970s, successive governments in New Delhi have pursued a strategy of building and maintaining a “credible minimum deterrent” against neighbouring China and Pakistan, both of which have longstanding and serious border disputes with India.
India’s nuclear strategy is essentially based on a policy of “no first use”, backed by the ability to retaliate. It therefore maintains a range of delivery systems to reduce the likelihood that a first strike could destroy its entire nuclear arsenal. Its strike capabilities rest on land, sea and air forces equipped with short-, medium- and long-range missiles. Although these capabilities fall short of those of the United States, Russia or China, they remain a significant strategic consideration.
All of the country’s military nuclear forces report directly to the Chief of Defence Staff. Since 2016, they have been assigned to the Strategic Forces Command, a joint organisation led since October 2025 by Lieutenant General Dinesh Singh Rana, previously Director General of the Defence Intelligence Agency. However, the authority to order the use of nuclear weapons rests exclusively with the Nuclear Security Committee, chaired by the prime minister.
India has a significant advantage: it is one of the few nations that produces enough enriched uranium and weapons-grade plutonium to fuel its nuclear-powered vessels and manufacture nuclear warheads for its missiles. According to the United States’ National Air and Space Intelligence Center, India may have produced “between 140 and 225 nuclear warheads” for missiles launched from combat aircraft, land-based systems and submarines. Some have a yield of 40 kilotonnes, approximately twice that of the atomic bomb that devastated Hiroshima in August 1945. There is no evidence of thermonuclear warhead development.
The air component was the first force established to provide a nuclear response. Activated in the second half of the 1990s, it could deliver free-fall bombs with terminal guidance. The second leg, comprising land-based ballistic missiles, became operational in 2003. The submarine component followed in 2024, making its nuclear weapon systems the most advanced in New Delhi’s nuclear triad.
A nuclear power at sea
The nuclear missiles carried by the Arihant-class fleet of nuclear-powered submarines strengthen India’s position as a major maritime power in the Indo-Pacific and extend the reach provided by its aircraft and land-based systems. Led by Admiral Krishna Swaminathan since May, the Indian Navy considers a fleet of at least four nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines necessary: one would remain on deterrent patrol, providing an immediate response capability, while the other three rotate through maintenance and crew training cycles.
Arihant-class nuclear-powered submarines can launch K-15 and K-4 ballistic missiles.
Photo: India Navy
The S-4 Aridhaman entered service just over six months ago. Measuring 130 metres in length and displacing 7,000 tonnes, it is a sister vessel to the Arisudan, launched in October 2024 and scheduled to enter service in 2027 after completing sea trials. Both have eight vertical launch tubes capable of firing up to 24 K-15 Sagarika ballistic missiles, with a range of between 750 and 1,500 kilometres, or eight K-4 ballistic missiles, with a range of up to 3,500 kilometres. The latter can strike any target in Pakistan and, from the northern Bay of Bengal, most of China.
The Indian Navy’s other two nuclear-powered submarines are the S-2 Arihant –the first nuclear-powered submarine built in India– and the S-3 Arighaat. Commissioned in August 2016 and August 2024 respectively, they share the same design. Measuring 111 metres in length and displacing 6,000 tonnes, they have four vertical launch tubes capable of firing up to 12 K-15 nuclear-capable ballistic missiles.
Modi’s government is already working on “Project 77”, a multibillion-euro initiative under which domestic shipyards and industry would build two large nuclear-powered attack submarines, each displacing 10,000 tonnes. Currently designated S-5, the vessels are expected to be launched between 2036 and 2039 and armed with nuclear-tipped BrahMos hypersonic missiles with a range of between 1,500 and 2,000 kilometres.
The Indian Air Force also has a nuclear capability, with at least three combat aircraft squadrons equipped to deliver atomic bombs. Its primary strike platforms are between 16 and 18 French-built Mirage 2000H Vajra, or “Divine Thunder”, fighters belonging to No. 40 Wing. Purchased from France in April 1982, they are primarily based at Maharajpur in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
To extend the service life of the roughly 50-strong fleet until at least 2035, all the aircraft have been upgraded by French industry to the more advanced Mirage 2000-5 standard. This has required an investment of more than €2 billion in new avionics and improved electronic warfare equipment.
Awaiting a nuclear-capable Indian Rafale
The second aircraft assigned a nuclear strike role, in a secondary capacity, is the Anglo-French Jaguar IS Shamsher, or “Sword of Justice”, fighter-bomber. Of a fleet of around 100 aircraft purchased in the 1980s, an estimated 32 are nuclear-capable.
Upgraded with new avionics and software for precision strikes, these aircraft are scheduled for retirement between 2028 and 2031 under the Air Force’s plans. The Jaguar IS Shamsher is to be replaced by the domestically designed Tejas Mark 2 fighter, currently being developed by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.
A third strike platform is expected to join this force in the foreseeable future: the French-built Rafale combat aircraft, which the French Air Force already uses for nuclear missions. The first aircraft from an initial batch of 36 Rafales ordered in 2016 for €30 billion was officially handed over to India’s Ministry of Defence in October 2019. The final aircraft was received in April 2022.
A further 26 Rafales will join the original 36 from 2029, this time in the naval variant. The Rafale Marine deal is worth €6.2 billion, including weapons. Ordered in April 2025, the aircraft will primarily operate from India’s two aircraft carriers, Vikrant and Vikramaditya. In February this year, Modi’s government approved the purchase of another 114 Rafales for €30 billion. Of these, 18 will be manufactured in France by Dassault Aviation and the remaining 96 in India by Tata Advanced Systems Ltd.
India’s land-based nuclear capability is mobile and operated by Army artillery units, with systems mounted on heavy-duty all-terrain trucks or railway platforms. It centres on the Agni family of multiple launchers, featuring two-stage propulsion and a nuclear warhead. The Agni-I has a range of around 700 kilometres and entered service in 2007.
The Agni-III ballistic missile is transported and launched from a railway platform.
Foto: India Ministry of Defense-DRDO
The Agni-II has been operational since 2011 and has a range of just over 2,000 kilometres. The more recently developed Agni-III has a range of 3,200 kilometres and is transported and launched from a railway platform, while the Agni-IV and Agni-V can reach 3,500 and 6,000 kilometres respectively. The newer-generation Agni-P has a range of between 1,000 and 2,000 kilometres. Taken together, these capabilities make India an essential consideration in any geostrategic assessment, as its military nuclear power continues to grow.
India is a major military power, although its military nuclear activities remain shrouded in secrecy. The seventh nation to develop and deploy atomic weapons, it continues to refine its extensive and varied “Make in India” nuclear arsenal under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been in power since May 2014.
Since the 1970s, successive governments in New Delhi have pursued a strategy of building and maintaining a “credible minimum deterrent” against neighbouring China and Pakistan, both of which have longstanding and serious border disputes with India.
India’s nuclear strategy is essentially based on a policy of “no first use”, backed by the ability to retaliate. It therefore maintains a range of delivery systems to reduce the likelihood that a first strike could destroy its entire nuclear arsenal. Its strike capabilities rest on land, sea and air forces equipped with short-, medium- and long-range missiles. Although these capabilities fall short of those of the United States, Russia or China, they remain a significant strategic consideration.
All of the country’s military nuclear forces report directly to the Chief of Defence Staff. Since 2016, they have been assigned to the Strategic Forces Command, a joint organisation led since October 2025 by Lieutenant General Dinesh Singh Rana, previously Director General of the Defence Intelligence Agency. However, the authority to order the use of nuclear weapons rests exclusively with the Nuclear Security Committee, chaired by the prime minister.
India has a significant advantage: it is one of the few nations that produces enough enriched uranium and weapons-grade plutonium to fuel its nuclear-powered vessels and manufacture nuclear warheads for its missiles. According to the United States’ National Air and Space Intelligence Center, India may have produced “between 140 and 225 nuclear warheads” for missiles launched from combat aircraft, land-based systems and submarines. Some have a yield of 40 kilotonnes, approximately twice that of the atomic bomb that devastated Hiroshima in August 1945. There is no evidence of thermonuclear warhead development.
The air component was the first force established to provide a nuclear response. Activated in the second half of the 1990s, it could deliver free-fall bombs with terminal guidance. The second leg, comprising land-based ballistic missiles, became operational in 2003. The submarine component followed in 2024, making its nuclear weapon systems the most advanced in New Delhi’s nuclear triad.
A nuclear power at sea
The nuclear missiles carried by the Arihant-class fleet of nuclear-powered submarines strengthen India’s position as a major maritime power in the Indo-Pacific and extend the reach provided by its aircraft and land-based systems. Led by Admiral Krishna Swaminathan since May, the Indian Navy considers a fleet of at least four nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines necessary: one would remain on deterrent patrol, providing an immediate response capability, while the other three rotate through maintenance and crew training cycles.
Arihant-class nuclear-powered submarines can launch K-15 and K-4 ballistic missiles.
Photo: India Navy
The S-4 Aridhaman entered service just over six months ago. Measuring 130 metres in length and displacing 7,000 tonnes, it is a sister vessel to the Arisudan, launched in October 2024 and scheduled to enter service in 2027 after completing sea trials. Both have eight vertical launch tubes capable of firing up to 24 K-15 Sagarika ballistic missiles, with a range of between 750 and 1,500 kilometres, or eight K-4 ballistic missiles, with a range of up to 3,500 kilometres. The latter can strike any target in Pakistan and, from the northern Bay of Bengal, most of China.
The Indian Navy’s other two nuclear-powered submarines are the S-2 Arihant –the first nuclear-powered submarine built in India– and the S-3 Arighaat. Commissioned in August 2016 and August 2024 respectively, they share the same design. Measuring 111 metres in length and displacing 6,000 tonnes, they have four vertical launch tubes capable of firing up to 12 K-15 nuclear-capable ballistic missiles.
Modi’s government is already working on “Project 77”, a multibillion-euro initiative under which domestic shipyards and industry would build two large nuclear-powered attack submarines, each displacing 10,000 tonnes. Currently designated S-5, the vessels are expected to be launched between 2036 and 2039 and armed with nuclear-tipped BrahMos hypersonic missiles with a range of between 1,500 and 2,000 kilometres.
The Indian Air Force also has a nuclear capability, with at least three combat aircraft squadrons equipped to deliver atomic bombs. Its primary strike platforms are between 16 and 18 French-built Mirage 2000H Vajra, or “Divine Thunder”, fighters belonging to No. 40 Wing. Purchased from France in April 1982, they are primarily based at Maharajpur in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
To extend the service life of the roughly 50-strong fleet until at least 2035, all the aircraft have been upgraded by French industry to the more advanced Mirage 2000-5 standard. This has required an investment of more than €2 billion in new avionics and improved electronic warfare equipment.
Awaiting a nuclear-capable Indian Rafale
The second aircraft assigned a nuclear strike role, in a secondary capacity, is the Anglo-French Jaguar IS Shamsher, or “Sword of Justice”, fighter-bomber. Of a fleet of around 100 aircraft purchased in the 1980s, an estimated 32 are nuclear-capable.
Upgraded with new avionics and software for precision strikes, these aircraft are scheduled for retirement between 2028 and 2031 under the Air Force’s plans. The Jaguar IS Shamsher is to be replaced by the domestically designed Tejas Mark 2 fighter, currently being developed by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.
A third strike platform is expected to join this force in the foreseeable future: the French-built Rafale combat aircraft, which the French Air Force already uses for nuclear missions. The first aircraft from an initial batch of 36 Rafales ordered in 2016 for €30 billion was officially handed over to India’s Ministry of Defence in October 2019. The final aircraft was received in April 2022.
A further 26 Rafales will join the original 36 from 2029, this time in the naval variant. The Rafale Marine deal is worth €6.2 billion, including weapons. Ordered in April 2025, the aircraft will primarily operate from India’s two aircraft carriers, Vikrant and Vikramaditya. In February this year, Modi’s government approved the purchase of another 114 Rafales for €30 billion. Of these, 18 will be manufactured in France by Dassault Aviation and the remaining 96 in India by Tata Advanced Systems Ltd.
India’s land-based nuclear capability is mobile and operated by Army artillery units, with systems mounted on heavy-duty all-terrain trucks or railway platforms. It centres on the Agni family of multiple launchers, featuring two-stage propulsion and a nuclear warhead. The Agni-I has a range of around 700 kilometres and entered service in 2007.
The Agni-III ballistic missile is transported and launched from a railway platform.
Foto: India Ministry of Defense-DRDO
The Agni-II has been operational since 2011 and has a range of just over 2,000 kilometres. The more recently developed Agni-III has a range of 3,200 kilometres and is transported and launched from a railway platform, while the Agni-IV and Agni-V can reach 3,500 and 6,000 kilometres respectively. The newer-generation Agni-P has a range of between 1,000 and 2,000 kilometres. Taken together, these capabilities make India an essential consideration in any geostrategic assessment, as its military nuclear power continues to grow.
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