A record-breaking torpedo for the Indian Navy?
The very same record-breaking SeaHake mod. 4 ER
Recently, reports began to leak about the interest of the Bharat Republic (colloquially, India) Navy in the German SeaHake mod. 4 ER heavy torpedo. Interest in the torpedo is fueled by its record-breaking range of 140 km (theoretically, the torpedo can travel 185 km, but it has not yet been fired at that distance), which is, on average, 50 percent longer than most modern torpedoes. By comparison, the newest Russian UGST Fizik 533mm torpedo (in service since 2002) has a range of approximately 65 km.
Domestic torpedo UGST "Physicist"
The torpedo was developed by Atlas Elektronnik, a division of the well-known industrial group ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS). Since weapon Being the newest torpedo, most of its specifications are kept secret. Besides its range, it's known to have a standard 533mm caliber, a speed of 50 knots, a diving depth of up to 600 meters, and a 260 kg warhead, equivalent to 460 kg of TNT. And then... Guiding such a long-range torpedo via fiber optics won't work (no, there are mentions of such a capability, but clearly not to the maximum range). The same UGST "Fizik" is wire-guided to a range of 25 km, while the American Mk-48 has a range of 18 km. Therefore, there are mentions that it will occasionally "surface to periscope level"—raising a mast with GPS equipment during the cruising phase. A passive sonar homing head will guide the torpedo during the terminal phase. In principle, the design works, but...
As we know from the law of conservation of matter, nothing comes from nowhere and nothing goes to nowhere. The record-breaking range of a torpedo, which, as we know, uses standard silver-zinc batteries, is achieved... Simply put—by increasing the projectile's length! But that's fraught with danger. The fact is, submarine torpedo compartments are designed for standard torpedoes. The same applies to torpedo tubes on surface ships. Therefore, the SeaHake mod. 4 ER is planned for use from mobile shore-based installations. Basically, it's something like a submarine-based submarine. Or...
UAE Navy Multi-Purpose Support Vessel Rmah
Or follow the UAE, which built specialized ships to fire these torpedoes. In 2014, the Regensburg-based Nobiskrug Werft delivered "two floating platforms with torpedo launchers" to the UAE Navy. This designation likely refers to the 58-meter "multipurpose support vessels" A-61 Rham and A-62 Afaq (sometimes referred to as minelayers), which most closely resemble seagoing tugs or oil field support vessels—they even have space for standard shipping containers. However, the computer image provided by Atlas Elektronik shows something very similar launching the torpedo. However, for impoverished India, such an approach is somewhat less relevant than for the petrodollar-fueled Emirates. So what's the point of the deal?
In the computer presentation presented by Atlas Electronic, the torpedo is launched by something similar to the Rmah.
I'd venture to guess that the Indians were interested in the German record-breaking torpedo not for the SeaHake mod. 4 ER itself, but for its technology. The fact is, they're not planning to buy the torpedoes themselves, but to establish a joint venture between India's VEM Technologies and Thyssen-Krupp to manufacture them (ToT—foreign design with local production through technology transfer).
Today, India also produces its own heavy torpedoes, such as the Varunastra. Its performance characteristics aren't as record-breaking, but they're perfectly suitable for use on conventional ships and submarines: speed of 40 knots, range of 25-30 miles, depth of up to 600 meters, warhead of 250 kg, active-passive sonar homing. However, the German torpedo has several real advantages (range aside), most notably its quiet operation! And German electric motors are traditionally excellent. For India, acquiring such technology is a good deal.
The Varunastra torpedo is launched from a Delhi-class destroyer.
But there's another consideration. Currently, torpedoes for the Indian Navy are being developed by the DRDO—the Defence Research and Production Organisation (their Varunastra!). The Republic of Bharat is a country where lobbying and corruption are very well-practiced, so perhaps the involvement of foreign developers (in addition to the Germans at TKMS, the Indians have placed an order for 48 Black Shark Advanced torpedoes with the Italians at Fincantieri) is intended to create a competitive environment and force DRDO's own engineers to use their brains. After all, the Indian Navy requires around 200 torpedoes, and that's quite a significant order to compete for...
Loading of the Italian Black Shark heavy torpedo from Fincantieri onto the Indonesian submarine Alugoro.
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