AKYA Torpedo: Inside ROKETSAN’s Heavyweight Submarine Weapon

AKYA is ROKETSAN’s domestically developed heavyweight torpedo, fired from submarine torpedo tubes against both submarines and surface ships. ROKETSAN’s official specification gives it a range of 50+ km and a speed of 45+ knots, guided by an active/passive sonar head with wake-homing against surface targets and a fibre-optic wire link for onboard guidance. Development began under a tripartite programme involving ROKETSAN, TÜBİTAK SAGE and the Turkish Navy’s research command, with live-fire testing from 2013 and the first deliveries to the Turkish Naval Forces reported in May 2024. As of October 2026, Turkiye is AKYA’s only confirmed operator; reported talks with Pakistan over its Hangor-class submarines remain unconfirmed by either government.

Photo: ROKETSAN AKYA heavyweight torpedo, official product image. Credit: ROKETSAN.

What is the AKYA torpedo?

AKYA is ROKETSAN’s “fully indigenous design, new generation Heavyweight Torpedo,” built to engage both submarines and surface targets from a submerged submarine (ROKETSAN, official product page, accessed 13 October 2026). It is the heavyweight counterpart to ROKETSAN’s separate lightweight torpedo programme, and Turkiye’s first domestically designed weapon in the 533 mm heavyweight class historically dominated by a handful of Western and Russian suppliers.

AKYA is not an anti-ship missile and should not be confused with ROKETSAN’s ATMACA (a vertically-launched, ship-fired anti-ship missile) or CAKIR (a multi-domain cruise missile). AKYA is a submarine-launched underwater weapon, fired from torpedo tubes rather than missile launchers, and its targets include enemy submarines as well as surface ships.

Who manufactures AKYA — ROKETSAN’s role and its partners

ROKETSAN is AKYA’s prime developer and manufacturer, responsible for the torpedo’s overall design, airframe, propulsion integration and guidance integration. The programme itself, however, was not a ROKETSAN-only effort from the start: industry reporting describes it as a joint undertaking between ROKETSAN, TÜBİTAK SAGE (the state defence-technology institute that has historically developed guidance and seeker algorithms for Turkish precision weapons) and the Turkish Navy’s own research and development command, ArMerKom, which defined the operational requirement (Shephard Media, “IDEF 2021: Roketsan Pursues Parallel Development of Heavy and Lightweight Torpedoes,” 2021; various Turkish industry sources; publicly reported programme-start years vary between 2008 and 2009 across sources, which DefenceMENA notes rather than resolves).

Two further Turkish suppliers have disclosed specific subsystem roles. FEMSAN, a Turkish electric-motor manufacturer, lists AKYA among the defence projects it supplies with brushless DC (BLDC) motors, consistent with ROKETSAN’s own listed propulsion description (FEMSAN company materials). In 2026, Altınay Savunma Teknolojileri announced a “Lithium-Based Battery Supply Contract” with ROKETSAN to mass-produce AKYA’s high-power lithium battery system, stated as a step to raise the torpedo’s domestic-content ratio (TRT Haber; BorsaGundem, 2026). Submarine-side integration — the combat management and fire-control software that lets a submarine’s crew actually launch AKYA — is a separate Turkish programme: TÜBİTAK BİLGEM developed the MÜREN combat management system with the Navy’s ArMerKom and Gölcük Naval Shipyard, and defence company STM has run the Advent-MÜREN CMS/fire-control integration project that adds AKYA launch capability to Gür-class (Type 214TN) submarines (STM, “Advent Müren Combat Management System — Fire Control System Integration Project”; Defence Turkey, “AKYA National HWT Torpedo Being Integrated into the MÜREN Preveze Project”). DefenceMENA treats MÜREN and its integration work as a distinct TÜBİTAK BİLGEM/STM programme, not a ROKETSAN product, even though the two systems operate together.

Development and public timeline

Range, guidance, warhead and performance

ROKETSAN’s official product page states a range of 50+ km and a speed of 45+ knots for AKYA, without publishing the range-versus-speed trade-off curve that most heavyweight torpedoes have (higher speed generally reduces maximum range) (ROKETSAN, official product page, accessed 13 October 2026). ROKETSAN’s 2024 English-language product catalogue separately lists a length of 7 m, a diameter of 533 mm (the NATO-standard heavyweight torpedo calibre) and a weight of 1,700 kg; a lower mass figure of around 1,200 kg appears on some third-party references, including Wikipedia, and DefenceMENA notes this discrepancy rather than resolving it, treating ROKETSAN’s own current catalogue as the primary figure.

Guidance combines an active/passive sonar homing head, described by ROKETSAN as having acoustic counter-countermeasure capability and wake-homing for use against surface ships, with a fibre-optic wire link that allows the firing submarine’s crew to guide the torpedo onboard before it switches to self-guidance in its terminal phase (ROKETSAN official product page). The warhead is described only as an “insensitive warhead with underwater shock effect” — ROKETSAN has not disclosed an explosive mass — fitted with a proximity or impact fuze. Propulsion is electric: a brushless DC motor drives a counter-rotating propeller system, powered by a high-energy chemical battery that ROKETSAN and Altınay Savunma describe as lithium-based in the torpedo’s current production configuration, rather than the Otto-fuel or thermal propulsion used by some older heavyweight torpedo designs.

Launch and compatible platforms

AKYA is launched exclusively from submarines, by swim-out from standard 533 mm torpedo tubes (ROKETSAN official product page). Its intended primary platform is Turkiye’s Reis-class (Type 214TN) submarine programme, for which STM has run an integration project adding AKYA launch capability to the Advent-MÜREN combat management and fire-control system (STM, “Advent Müren Combat Management System — Fire Control System Integration Project”). Confirmed public test launches to date have come from modernised Gür-class and Preveze-class (Type 209/1400) boats: TCG Preveze (an early MÜREN-equipped test platform, per Defence Turkey) and, in the most recently reported SINKEX, TCG Sakarya. Both classes use the same 533 mm torpedo-tube standard, so no separate weapon variant is required to fire AKYA from older or newer Turkish submarine classes once each boat’s combat system has been integrated with MÜREN.

Which countries use the AKYA torpedo?

Turkiye is AKYA’s only confirmed operator. No other country’s order, contract or delivery has been publicly disclosed by ROKETSAN, the Turkish government, or any foreign government as of this article’s publication. The reported Pakistan talks are treated here strictly as RUMOURED: a single outlet’s reporting, without an official statement on either side, and without a signed agreement, contract value or delivery schedule. DefenceMENA will update this status if an official confirmation, contract notice or delivery is reported.

Contract value and pricing

No unit price has ever been publicly disclosed for AKYA by ROKETSAN or the Turkish government. The January 2024 mass-production agreement covering AKYA, ATMACA and SAPAN was announced without a combined or per-system contract value, and the 2026 Altınay Savunma lithium-battery supply contract was likewise announced without a disclosed figure. Where a public source discloses a package value in the future that bundles torpedoes with integration, batteries, training or support, DefenceMENA will state that package value and its scope rather than deriving a per-unit price from it.

Competing systems

AKYA belongs to the global class of NATO-standard 533 mm heavyweight torpedoes, fired from submarine torpedo tubes against both submarines and surface ships. The comparison below applies the same criteria to each system — weight class, propulsion, range, speed and export record — using only figures published by each manufacturer or government; official figures for several Western heavyweight torpedoes remain only partly disclosed.

On the figures ROKETSAN has published, AKYA’s stated range and speed sit close to Italy’s electrically-propelled Black Shark, and both differ from the UK’s gas-turbine Spearfish, which trades range for a substantially higher top speed at short distance. The US Mk 48’s performance envelope remains largely undisclosed in open sources, so it cannot be compared on a like-for-like basis here. AKYA’s export record is, on current public evidence, the least developed of the four: Black Shark and the Mk 48 both have established export customers, Spearfish remains UK-only in public reporting, and AKYA has no confirmed foreign operator as of October 2026, with only unconfirmed reports of talks with Pakistan.

Related ROKETSAN systems

AKYA is ROKETSAN’s submarine-launched heavyweight torpedo, distinct from the company’s surface-ship and multi-platform strike weapons. For ROKETSAN’s dedicated naval anti-ship missile, see ATMACA Anti-Ship Missile Explained. For its multi-domain cruise missile, see CAKIR Cruise Missile Explained. For ROKETSAN’s full product range and corporate background, see the ROKETSAN company hub. For a global summary of confirmed ROKETSAN operators, see Which Countries Use ROKETSAN Missiles and Munitions?. For Turkish-language technical background on AKYA’s motor supplier, see Envanter Medya’s overview of FEMSAN’s defence projects, from AKYA to ANKA.

Frequently asked questions

What is the range of the AKYA torpedo?

ROKETSAN’s official specification states a range of 50+ km. The company has not published a detailed range-versus-speed curve, which is normal for heavyweight torpedoes, where higher speed settings typically reduce maximum range.

How fast is the AKYA torpedo?

ROKETSAN’s official specification states a speed of 45+ knots.

Which countries use the AKYA torpedo?

Only Turkiye is a confirmed operator, with deliveries to the Turkish Naval Forces since May 2024. A single defence outlet has reported unconfirmed talks between Turkiye and Pakistan over AKYA for Pakistan’s Hangor-class submarines, but neither government has confirmed an agreement.

Who makes the AKYA torpedo?

ROKETSAN is the prime developer and manufacturer. TÜBİTAK SAGE and the Turkish Navy’s ArMerKom co-developed the programme from its start, Turkish motor-maker FEMSAN supplies the propulsion motor, and Altınay Savunma Teknolojileri supplies the torpedo’s lithium-based battery under a 2026 series-production contract.

What submarines can fire the AKYA torpedo?

AKYA is designed around Turkiye’s Reis-class (Type 214TN) submarine programme. Confirmed public test launches have come from modernised Gür-class and Preveze-class (Type 209/1400) boats, including TCG Preveze and TCG Sakarya, once their combat systems were integrated with the MÜREN combat management system.

Does the AKYA torpedo have a publicly disclosed price?

No. Neither ROKETSAN nor the Turkish government has disclosed a unit price or total programme value for AKYA.

Sources

• ROKETSAN: AKYA Next-Generation Heavy Class Torpedo, official product page (accessed 13 October 2026)
• Wikipedia: Roketsan Akya (background and cross-reference only, not used as a primary specification source)
• Shephard Media: “IDEF 2021: Roketsan Pursues Parallel Development of Heavy and Lightweight Torpedoes” (2021)
• Defence Turkey: “AKYA National HWT Torpedo Being Integrated Into the MÜREN Preveze Project”
• STM: “Advent Müren Combat Management System — Fire Control System Integration Project”
• Naval News: “Turkish Navy Test-Fires New AKYA Heavy Weight Torpedo” (15 March 2022)
• Overt Defense: “Roketsan Begins Delivering AKYA Heavyweight Torpedoes to the Turkish Naval Forces” (10 May 2024)
• Defense News: “Turkey Inks Deal to Replace Four Foreign-Made Weapons With Local Types” (24 January 2024)
• Naval News: “SINKEX: Turkish Navy Achieves First AKYA Heavyweight Torpedo Firing From MÜREN CMS”
• TRT Haber: “ROKETSAN ve Altınay Savunma Teknolojilerinden AKYA Projesinde Güç Birliği” (Turkish-language)
• Defence Security Asia: reporting on unconfirmed Pakistan-AKYA talks for the Hangor-class submarine programme
• Envanter Medya: “FEMSAN Savunma Projeleri: AKYA’dan ANKA’ya” (Turkish-language background on AKYA’s motor supplier)