Atlas Elektronik Pitches For Indian Navy Torpedo Upgrade

Marine-defense giant Atlas Elektronik is looking at new ways to target the booming Indian defense market. Atlas Elektronik is now focused on winning the torpedo upgradation program for the Indian Navy which has been using the German-made SUTs torpedoes (Surface and Underwater Torpedo). Designed to counter the threat of Submarine (Anti Submarine Warfare) and Surface Ship (Anti Surface Ship Warfare), the torpedoes have been in India’s possession for over 25 years now. Having partnered with HDW, the German submarine manufacturer, a major supplier to India, Atlas hopes the partnership will boost its presence in the Indian Naval community. “We are looking at new concepts for the Indian Navy to enhance the capability gaps and come up with a solution for the Navy so that we can partner with the Indian companies, thus making the best of two worlds,” said Volker Paltzo, Managing Director of Atlas Elektronik during an interview with defenseworld.net. Paltzo confirmed meeting with L&T and BEL (Bharat Electronics Ltd) earlier this year, saying the talks were “constructive”. He said, “We plan to bring Atlas engineers to India to work on joint development projects. We are not looking at a big bang instead we are looking at preparing at the ground-level to identify opportunities”. Earlier this year at DefExpo 2012 in New Delhi, India, Atlas Elektronik showcased their wide range of maritime defense technologies to boost their presence in the country. The weapons-maker in the process of setting up Atlas-India to enhance “co operation in the Indian market”.