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‘Make-in-India’ heavyweight torpedoes on the way with VEM–TKMS agreement

March 10, 2026 5 min read Internal Security GS Paper 3 (Internal Security Science & Technology)
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What Happened

  • Hyderabad-based VEM Technologies and Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) signed a Teaming Agreement on March 10, 2026, for the joint production of heavyweight torpedoes for the Indian Navy.
  • Under the agreement, TKMS will transfer technology and software licences for its SeaHake mod4 heavyweight torpedo to VEM Technologies, enabling domestic manufacturing at facilities in India.
  • The initial phase targets production for the Indian Navy's existing submarine fleet, with around 500 torpedoes to be produced; the medium-term goal is a joint venture to supply the Indian market and explore exports.
  • This agreement follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two companies in September 2025 and represents a significant step in India's Wirelessly Guided Heavyweight Torpedo (WGHWT) programme.

Static Topic Bridges

Make in India in Defence — Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020

The Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 is the principal regulatory framework governing capital procurement for India's armed forces. It replaced the earlier Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016 and significantly raised indigenous content requirements across all procurement categories. Its categories are ranked in order of preference, with the highest priority given to domestically designed, developed, and manufactured equipment.

  • Buy (Indian-IDDM): Highest-priority category — product must be indigenously designed, developed, and manufactured, with minimum 50% indigenous content; IPR must vest with Indian entities.
  • Buy (Indian): Procurement from Indian vendors with at least 60% indigenous content on cost basis; does not require indigenous design/development.
  • Buy & Make (Indian): Transfer of technology from a foreign Original Equipment Manufacturer to an Indian production agency, which then manufactures the product in India — directly applicable to the VEM–TKMS model.
  • Positive Indigenisation List (PIL): Items placed on the PIL are reserved exclusively for domestic procurement — the Indian Navy's requirement for heavyweight torpedoes is expected to eventually move onto this list.
  • Defence Industrial Corridors: Two corridors established — Uttar Pradesh (nodes: Agra, Aligarh, Chitrakoot, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow) and Tamil Nadu (nodes: Chennai, Coimbatore, Hosur, Salem, Tiruchirappalli) — to develop domestic manufacturing ecosystems.

Connection to this news: The VEM–TKMS agreement is structured along the lines of the "Buy & Make (Indian)" and "Buy & Make" DAP 2020 categories, where TKMS transfers SeaHake technology and VEM manufactures in India, directly advancing DAP 2020's indigenisation goals for submarine-launched weapons.

Torpedo Technology — Types and Strategic Significance

Torpedoes are underwater self-propelled weapons used to destroy surface ships and submarines. They fall into two broad categories based on launch platform and weight class, each serving distinct operational roles in a naval force.

  • Lightweight Torpedoes (LWT): Typically weighing under 300 kg; launched from aircraft, helicopters, and surface ships for anti-submarine warfare (ASW); India's indigenous equivalent is the TAL Shyena, developed by DRDO's Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL) and manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited — weight 220 kg, range 19 km, speed 33 knots.
  • Heavyweight Torpedoes (HWT): Typically weighing over 1,000 kg; launched from submarines against other submarines and surface ships; much greater range, warhead size, and endurance than LWTs; TKMS's SeaHake mod4 is a wire-guided and acoustic-homing HWT.
  • Guidance Systems: Modern HWTs use a combination of wire guidance (operator-controlled for mid-course correction) and active/passive acoustic homing (terminal phase); wire guidance allows the firing submarine to remain covert.
  • India's Gap: India's submarine fleet — both the Kalvari-class (Scorpène) and the older Sindhughosh-class — has historically relied on imported heavyweight torpedoes; the DRDO's WGHWT programme aims to close this gap through domestic development, supplemented by technology-transfer partnerships like VEM–TKMS.

Connection to this news: The VEM–TKMS deal specifically targets the HWT gap in India's submarine arsenal, providing an interim technology-transfer route while DRDO's indigenous WGHWT programme matures.

VEM Technologies — Private Sector in Defence Manufacturing

VEM Technologies (formerly Vem Techno Products) is a Hyderabad-based private defence manufacturer that has emerged as one of India's most capable defence-private-sector enterprises. It is emblematic of the government's push to involve private industry in critical defence production beyond the Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs).

  • VEM Technologies has previously manufactured components for torpedoes, warships, and aerostructures for DRDO and the Indian Navy.
  • The company's agreement with TKMS — a German firm also known as ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, one of the world's leading submarine and naval systems manufacturers — gives it access to cutting-edge torpedo technology.
  • The agreement is expected to eventually evolve into a joint venture, which would position India as both a consumer and potential exporter of heavyweight torpedoes.
  • This partnership exemplifies the "strategic partnership model" envisaged under DAP 2020, where Indian private firms lead production with technology from foreign OEMs.

Connection to this news: VEM's role as the Indian anchor for the TKMS technology transfer demonstrates how private-sector defence firms are becoming central to India's self-reliance goals, reducing dependence on state-owned DPSUs alone.

Key Facts & Data

  • Torpedo Advanced Light (TAL) Shyena: India's indigenous lightweight torpedo — 220 kg, 33 knots, 19 km range, developed by NSTL/DRDO, manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited.
  • TKMS (ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems): German company, one of the world's leading submarine and naval systems OEMs; its Atlas Elektronik segment develops the SeaHake torpedo family.
  • MoU between VEM and TKMS: signed September 2025; Teaming Agreement: March 10, 2026.
  • Estimated production target under the agreement: approximately 500 heavyweight torpedoes for the Indian Navy's submarine fleet.
  • DAP 2020 introduced by the Ministry of Defence in September 2020, replacing DPP 2016; raised minimum indigenous content to 50% across most categories.
  • India's two Defence Industrial Corridors: UP (6 nodes) and Tamil Nadu (5 nodes), established to attract private defence investment.
  • India's current submarine fleet (Kalvari-class Scorpène submarines — 6 in service) relies on imported heavyweight torpedoes, making the VEM–TKMS deal strategically critical.