Indian Defence Review

Atlas Elektronik’s SeaHake Mod4 ER torpedo

Atlas Elektronik, a leading German naval defence firm that had in the 1980s supplied SUT torpedoes for Indian Navy’s Shishumar Class submarines, has in the recent past, established its subsidiary in India to exploit the emerging opportunities in the lucrative market for weapons systems in the country. Along with the other two services, the Indian Navy is embarked on a major plan for modernisation and capability enhancement.

To meet the needs of the Indian Navy, Atlas Elektronik has on offer the SeaHake Mod4 ER, its latest torpedo which is among the fastest and most effective heavy weapons that can substantially enhance the Indian Navy’s firepower. Considerably safer and stealthy as also much less noisy as compared with the High-Test-Peroxide (HTP) oxygenised propellant and thermodynamically driven Russian anti-surface torpedoes in the Indian Kilo class submarines, the SeaHake torpedo has a range of 140km and a speed of over 50 nautical miles per hour.

Competing against the German firm is WASS, an Italian manufacturer that has on offer the Black Shark. This weapons system has been produced for the French submarine Scorpene. For Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Atlas Elektroniks is offering the Active Towed Away Sonars (ACTAS) that will significantly increase the range at which a torpedo or a submarine can be detected thereby increasing the reaction time available.