 "China launches first Hangor-class submarine for Pakistan: Here's what we know")
China has launched eight Hangor class submarines for Pakistan.
A slew of high-ranking officials from Pakistan and China attended the launch ceremony at Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group’s (WSIG) Shuangliu Base in Wuhan.
The Pakistan Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf in a statement said the submarines would “add a new dimension to the ever-tested Pakistan-China friendship.”
But what do we know about the submarines?
Let’s take a closer look:
The contract for building the submarines between the Pakistan government and China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Company Ltd (CSOC) was signed in 2015.
That occurred in the backdrop of a visit to Pakistan by China’s president Xi Jinping.
Under the agreement, Beijing agreed to provide Islamabad eight state-of-the-art submarines.
The submarines are a variant of the People’s Liberation Army Navy Type 039B Yuan-class submarines.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsAccording to Indian Express, it is named after the PNS Hangor — a diesel-electric attack submarine that downed Indian frigate INS Khukri during the 1971 war.
The submarines come with four diesel engines and an air independent propulsion (AIP) system. The AIP vastly improves a submarine’s durabulity underwater.
It is equipped with six 21-inch torpedo tubes. It can launch anti-ship missiles and the Babur-3 subsonic cruise missile which has a 450 kilometre range.
According to Naval News, equipping the submarines with Babur-3 SLCMs would give Pakistan ‘deep strike capabilities.’
The Hangor submarines have a displacement of 2,800 tonnes, are 76 metres in length and 8.4 metres in width.
They have a draught of 6.2 metres while on the surface and have a top speed of 20 knots, as per Indian Express.
SCMP quoted an ex-senior Pakistan naval officer in the know as telling the Financial Times in 2015 that the contract could be worth between $4 billion and $5 billion.
Four of the submarines will be built by the WSIG while the others are being built at KS&EW (Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works) under the Transfer of Technology (ToT) agreement.
The submarines, having advanced stealth features, are to be fitted with state-of-the-art weapons and sensors to operate under a multi-threat environment and can engage targets at stand-off ranges.
While China was originally set to give Islamabad eight vessels between 2022 and 2028, that isn’t likely to happen as the first submarine was only launched in 2024, as per Naval News.
SCMP quoted Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) as saying that Beijing remains Pakistan’s top weapons supplier.
SIPRI in its March report noted that 82 per cent of Pakistan’s arms imports were from China between 2019 and 2023.
That was an increase from 69 per cent the 2014 to 2018 period.
While China comprises 5.8 per cent of total global arms exports in between 2019 and 2023, it sent over half these exports (61 per cent) to Pakistan.
‘Shows strong military cooperation’
Speaking at the occasion, Admiral Ashraf emphasised the importance of maritime security under the prevailing geo-strategic environment and the navy’s resolve to ensure regional peace and stability.
The navy chief also underscored that the Hangor-class S/M Project will “shows strong military cooperation between two countries”.
Friday’s launch ceremony comes after Pakistan commenced the manufacturing of the 6th Hangor-class submarine by KS&EW in February.
Pakistan enjoys close military ties with China with their bilateral relations provisioning various arms imports by Islamabad from Beijing.
Last year, the Pakistan Navy inducted two newly built Chinese Type 054 A/P frigates.
Both countries had inked the contract for four multi-role frigates back in 2018. The first and second ships PNS TUGHRIL and PNS TAIMUR joined the PN fleet in 2022
With inputs from agencies
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