CFF takes 51% in new Indian TKMS anti-submarine venture

CFF Fluid Control Limited will hold 51% of TKMS CFF Defence Systems Private Limited under a binding joint venture agreement signed with TKMS on November 6, 2026. The India-based company will pursue local manufacturing, system integration and through-life support for anti-submarine warfare and underwater-defence systems.

What ownership and structure will CFF have in the joint venture?

CFF will own 51% of TKMS CFF Defence Systems Private Limited, while TKMS will own 49%, under the binding Joint Venture Agreement entered on November 6, 2026. CFF’s board approved the agreement at its meeting on the same date, and the disclosure identifies TKMS ATLAS ELEKTRONIK GmbH as the agreement counterparty.

The new company will have its registered office in Mumbai, while dedicated manufacturing and integration operations are planned at a purpose-built electronics and systems facility in Chakan, Pune, Maharashtra. The announcement does not disclose the venture’s share capital, funding commitments, revenue expectations, order book, launch date or commissioning timetable for the Chakan facility.

The 51:49 structure gives CFF majority ownership while combining its Indian engineering and manufacturing operations with TKMS technology in an India-based company. The agreement is described as binding, rather than as a non-binding cooperation arrangement, although the announcement does not set out governance rights, board composition or the parties’ financial contributions.

What will TKMS CFF Defence Systems Private Limited do?

TKMS CFF Defence Systems Private Limited will address anti-submarine warfare, or ASW, and underwater-defence requirements through indigenisation, manufacturing, system integration and through-life support. The partners said the venture will combine TKMS sonar and sensor technologies with CFF’s engineering, mechanical and electronic systems capabilities for the Indian Navy’s current and future underwater-domain requirements.

The operating model extends beyond production of individual components because it includes comprehensive through-life support after systems are installed. CFF and TKMS placed the planned work within the Make in India framework and described the entity as a dedicated Indian systems house for underwater-domain programmes. They did not identify a specific Navy programme, platform, contract or system order for the new company.

The stated ASW scope adds TKMS sonar, sensor and acoustics technology to CFF’s existing naval-system range. CFF’s disclosed system types include fluid-control, high-pressure air, hydraulic and steering systems, weapon handling, stealth and underwater communication. The venture is therefore intended to cover the chain from technology indigenisation and local manufacture to integration and lifecycle support, rather than a single listed product.

How does the agreement change the CFF and TKMS partnership?

The November 2026 agreement advances the relationship from a Teaming Agreement signed in 2023 to a planned jointly owned Indian company with a defined 51:49 ownership structure. The partners describe the venture as the next stage of a relationship developed progressively since 2023, with a Mumbai registered office and planned manufacturing and integration operations in Chakan.

Michael Ozegowski, Executive Vice President of TKMS ATLAS ELEKTRONIK, said the agreement takes the strategic partnership with CFF to the next level and reflects TKMS’s long-term commitment to the Indian Navy and India’s defence industry. He said the companies are creating a local base for indigenous ASW solutions in support of Make in India; the announcement gives no localisation percentage, annual-output target or procurement-volume forecast.

CFF Managing Director Sunil Menon said the partnership aims to create enduring Indian capability rather than simply transfer technology. His statement links TKMS underwater-defence technology with CFF engineering and manufacturing strengths. The mechanism disclosed is the pooling of complementary technological and industrial capabilities in the new systems company, rather than a standalone licensing, supply or distribution agreement.

What existing capabilities does CFF bring to the venture?

CFF says it has designed, manufactured, integrated and sustained naval systems for the Indian Navy and its shipyards for 14 years. During that period, it has supplied and supported submarine and surface fleets on more than 60 vessels across 11 programmes. Its disclosed work includes engineering and qualification, manufacture, installation and commissioning, refit and through-life support.

CFF has more than 260 employees at its Mumbai headquarters and two ISO 9001:2015-certified manufacturing facilities in Khopoli and Chakan, Pune, Maharashtra. Chakan is also the location identified for the venture’s dedicated electronics and systems manufacturing and integration operations. The announcement does not state whether CFF’s existing Chakan facility and the proposed purpose-built venture facility will share staff, equipment or other infrastructure.

The venture pairs CFF’s Indian naval sustainment record with TKMS’s wider naval-systems footprint. TKMS says it has more than 10,200 employees, including temporary workers, across three shipyards in Kiel, Wismar and Itajaí, Brazil, plus locations worldwide. Around 3,900 of those employees work at Kiel, while the release identifies TKMS as a supplier for submarines, naval surface vessels, maritime electronics and security technologies.

Conclusion

The binding agreement gives CFF a 51% interest in an India-based company intended to combine its naval engineering, manufacturing and fleet-sustainment activities with TKMS sonar, sensor and acoustics technologies. The disclosed structure specifies the ownership split, Mumbai registered office and a Chakan operating location, while the planned scope spans indigenisation, production, integration and through-life support for ASW systems.

The next disclosed operational step is the establishment of dedicated manufacturing and integration operations at the purpose-built Chakan electronics and systems facility. Matters to watch include incorporation progress, the beginning of operations, and any subsequent disclosure of Indian Navy programmes, initial orders, capital commitments, localisation milestones or financial contributions that were not specified on November 6, 2026.