Does China Have an Answer to India’s Arihant Missile Submarine? A new submarine promises to give the world’s most populous democratic nation a powerful second-strike nuclear capability. Here's What You Need to Remember: Thanks to nuclear propulsion, Arihant can do twelve to fifteen knots on the surface and twenty-four knots underwater. Maximum diving depth is unknown, and probably a closely held secret, but the Akula class is known to dive to six hundred meters. The submarine is manned by a crew of ninety-five to one hundred. A new submarine promises to give the world’s most populous democratic nation a powerful second-strike nuclear capability. The INS