Malaysia’s First Black Shark Torpedo Live-Fire Marks Decisive Leap in Maritime Strike Capability

(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — In a landmark moment for Southeast Asian maritime defence, the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) has successfully fired a live Black Shark heavyweight torpedo from its Perdana Menteri-class (Scorpène-class) diesel-electric submarine for the first time — a full 16 years after the vessel’s commissioning.

The historic launch took place during the high-intensity Exercise Taming Sari 23/25, held in Malaysia’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) within the strategically sensitive South China Sea.

This milestone marks not just a technical achievement but a major leap in Malaysia’s undersea warfare capability, signalling to regional actors that the country’s submarine fleet is no longer a deterrent-in-waiting, but a combat-ready, precision-strike asset capable of executing deep-water engagements against high-value maritime targets.

The RMN confirmed the achievement on 5 August 2025, following the exercise’s conclusion.

The KD Tun Razak, the second of Malaysia’s two Scorpène-class submarines, fired a single war-configured Black Shark torpedo in a live-fire scenario designed to validate the submarine’s strike systems, crew readiness, and overall combat performance.

While Malaysia has previously conducted torpedo simulation drills, this was the first operational launch of a live, fully armed heavyweight torpedo from a Malaysian submarine, representing a critical validation of the nation’s subsurface strike capabilities.

The Black Shark launch was integrated into a wider show of force during Exercise Taming Sari 23/25, which also included live-fire Exocet MM40 Block 2 anti-ship missiles from frigates KD Lekiu and KD Lekir, as well as the SM39 submarine-launched variant of the Exocet from the KD Tunku Abdul Rahman.

In total, the exercise mobilised 17 RMN warships, two Royal Malaysian Air Force aircraft, and three naval helicopters in one of the largest and most complex maritime combat readiness drills the country has conducted in recent years.

The exercise’s high-visibility nature, personally observed by Malaysia’s Minister of Defence, underscored both the national significance and regional messaging of the event.

The Defence Minister stressed that the exercise was vital for enhancing readiness, capability, and competence, framing the launch not as an act of aggression, but as a necessary step in reinforcing national defence doctrine.

He reiterated that Malaysia’s defence posture is inherently defensive, focused on protecting sovereignty and ensuring that personnel can operate their assets effectively in a crisis.

This emphasis reflects Malaysia’s dual requirement: to maintain strategic credibility in a contested maritime environment, while avoiding escalation in a region where naval incidents carry significant diplomatic risk.

Black Shark Heavyweight Torpedo: Technical Superiority Underwater

Developed by Italy’s Leonardo S.p.A., the Black Shark is one of the most sophisticated heavyweight torpedoes in the global market.

Specifications and Combat Capability:

• Length: 6.3 metres

• Weight: ~1,550 kilograms

• Warhead: 250-kilogram high-explosive, optimised for destroying heavily armoured vessels and submarines

• Range: Up to 50 kilometres

• Speed: Exceeds 50 knots (93 km/h)

• Propulsion: High-efficiency electric motor powered by aluminium-silver oxide batteries for reduced noise signature

Guidance Systems:

• Inertial Navigation System (INS) for initial trajectory

• Active and passive sonar homing for mid-course and terminal guidance

• Digital acoustic processing to distinguish genuine targets from decoys

• Fibre-optic wire guidance for real-time operator control from the submarine

These features make the Black Shark exceptionally resistant to countermeasures, ensuring target lock even in the presence of sophisticated decoy systems.

The first live firing was more than just a weapon test — it was a systems-level validation of KD Tun Razak’s ability to execute a real-world kill chain.

This included:

• Fire-Control System Validation — ensuring the submarine’s sensors, targeting algorithms, and torpedo launch systems function flawlessly under operational conditions.

• Crew Readiness Assessment — testing decision-making, coordination, and emergency protocols during a live weapons release.

• Tactical Integration — synchronising submarine strikes with surface ship missile launches in a layered attack profile.

By demonstrating the ability to integrate subsurface and surface strike capabilities, Malaysia has taken a step closer to achieving a multi-domain maritime strike doctrine.

Strategic Context: South China Sea Power Balances

The South China Sea is widely regarded as one of the world’s most volatile maritime flashpoints — a geopolitical crossroads where strategic sea lanes, rich energy reserves, and competing sovereignty claims converge.

Spanning 3.5 million square kilometres, the region is crisscrossed by some of the busiest shipping routes on Earth, through which more than US$3 trillion (RM14.3 trillion) in annual trade passes.

Beneath its waters lie substantial untapped reserves of oil and natural gas, making control over its features and surrounding EEZs a matter of both economic survival and strategic dominance for the littoral states.

Malaysia, which claims part of the Spratly Islands and maintains an EEZ covering resource-rich waters, has historically pursued a quiet but firm defence policy in the South China Sea.

However, the increasing militarisation of the area — with China’s expansive island-building and fortification efforts, Vietnam’s naval upgrades, and the Philippines’ enhanced defence pacts with the United States — has compelled Kuala Lumpur to visibly demonstrate credible military capabilities.

The first live firing of the Black Shark heavyweight torpedo from KD Tun Razak therefore carries far more than a symbolic weight; it is a strategic signal to both allies and competitors that Malaysia is capable of mounting silent, long-range, and lethal undersea responses to any infringement.

Unlike surface combatants, which can be tracked by satellite or radar, submarines equipped with heavyweight torpedoes operate in the realm of strategic ambiguity.

The knowledge that a Malaysian Scorpène-class submarine could be operating undetected within strike range forces potential adversaries to account for the possibility of a decisive, first-strike underwater attack against high-value warships or logistics vessels.

In naval warfare planning, this uncertainty is itself a potent form of deterrence, as it complicates operational timelines, extends risk envelopes, and forces the diversion of resources to anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operations.

Malaysia’s EEZ in the South China Sea is home to critical offshore oil and gas platforms, including those in the Luconia Shoals — a region that has seen repeated intrusions by foreign coast guard and naval vessels.

A fully combat-capable submarine force armed with the Black Shark torpedo provides Malaysia with a non-escalatory but highly credible defensive option to protect these high-value economic assets.

The ability to silently shadow and, if necessary, neutralise intruding surface or subsurface threats enhances Kuala Lumpur’s leverage in safeguarding both resource exploitation rights and the broader maritime domain.

While the introduction of advanced weaponry can heighten tensions, it can also act as a stabilising factor if it contributes to a balance of power that discourages unilateral coercion.

By demonstrating that it possesses a functioning, real-world underwater strike capability, Malaysia strengthens the region’s collective deterrence posture, making it less likely that any single state will risk a high-intensity confrontation.

Furthermore, this capability increases Malaysia’s value as a security partner in multilateral exercises such as RIMPAC or ASEAN-led maritime security operations, enhancing interoperability with regional and extra-regional powers while reinforcing the rules-based order at sea.

In essence, the live-fire Black Shark launch is not just about Malaysia defending Malaysia — it’s about Malaysia playing a measured but assertive role in shaping the future stability of one of the most strategically important maritime regions in the world.

Comparison with Regional Undersea Capabilities

Malaysia’s Scorpène-class submarines, now proven with live-fire Black Shark capability, are among the most modern conventional SSKs in the region.

While Singapore’s Type 218SG, Vietnam’s Kilo-class, and Indonesia’s Nagapasa-class also field heavyweight torpedoes, Malaysia’s integration of the Black Shark — with its advanced counter-countermeasure suite — gives it a competitive edge in littoral combat scenarios.

In broader terms, this launch places Malaysia among a select group of navies capable of delivering live, operational torpedo strikes — a critical marker of undersea warfare credibility.

Despite this achievement, the RMN faces challenges in sustaining such capabilities. Many surface assets are ageing, and maintenance of high-end submarine systems is costly.

To maintain momentum, Malaysia will need to:

• Conduct Regular Live-Fire Exercises to keep crews proficient under combat-realistic conditions.

• Invest in Logistics and Maintenance Infrastructure to ensure operational availability.

• Enhance ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) to fully exploit the Black Shark’s range and precision.

Exercise Taming Sari 23/25 was conducted alongside Exercise Kerismas 28/25, involving the Malaysian Army, Royal Malaysian Air Force, and Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency.

This joint security architecture strengthens Malaysia’s ability to respond to conventional maritime threats and hybrid scenarios, from grey-zone incursions to full-scale naval engagements.

The combination of multi-service integration and cutting-edge weapon systems forms the backbone of Malaysia’s future maritime deterrence strategy.

Geopolitical Messaging Beyond Malaysia

The live-fire event sends a subtle but unmistakable message to both allies and potential adversaries.

To regional partners, it signals that Malaysia can contribute meaningful combat power to multinational maritime security operations.

To potential aggressors, it serves as a warning that attempts to challenge Malaysia’s sovereignty will be met with silent, precise, and devastating counter-force from beneath the waves.

The successful live firing of the Black Shark heavyweight torpedo represents a watershed moment in Malaysia’s maritime defence evolution.

Looking ahead, the RMN will need to:

• Expand its submarine training pipeline to grow a sustainable cadre of undersea warfare specialists.

• Explore next-generation torpedo technologies, including thermal propulsion and extended-range variants.

• Integrate network-centric warfare systems to link submarine operations with airborne and space-based ISR assets.

Conclusion: Malaysia’s Silent Strategic Edge

In an Indo-Pacific maritime environment increasingly defined by high-stakes competition, Malaysia’s first live-fire of the Black Shark heavyweight torpedo signals that the nation has entered a new era of credible undersea deterrence.

From defending offshore energy fields to securing critical sea lanes, the RMN now possesses a proven deep-strike capability that will shape both national defence planning and regional naval power balances for years to come.

With the Black Shark now part of its operational playbook, Malaysia holds a silent but formidable advantage — one that operates far from sight, yet close enough to decisively influence any contest in the waters it calls its own.