Karachi Shipbuilding Boom Expected With Pakistan Navy Modernization

[Riaz Haq]

Pakistan is launching domestic construction of warships, submarines and missile boats as part of its ambitious naval modernization program in collaboration with China, according to media reports.

Karachi Shipyard

Chinese media reports have described a building program involving six of eight S-20 AIP-equipped variants of the Type-039A/Type-041 submarine under negotiation; four "Improved F-22P" frigates equipped with enhanced sensors and weaponry (possibly including the HQ-17 surface-to-air missile developed from the Russian Tor 1/SA-N-9); and six Type-022 Houbei stealth catamaran missile boats, to be built by Pakistan's state-owned shipbuilder Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works (KSEW), according to DefenseNews.

Pakistan is expanding and modernizing its underwater fleet with 8 additional AIP-equipped submarines jointly built with China.  Mansoor Ahmed of Quaid-e-Azam University told Defense News that AIP-equipped conventional submarines "provide reliable second strike platforms, [and] an assured capability resides with [nuclear-powered attack and nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines], which are technically very complex and challenging to construct and operate compared to SSKs, and also very capital intensive."

Expansion of KSEW in Karachi includes a new foundry, fabrication facilities to cover all aspects of ship construction, berthing facilities, and two graving docks of 26,000 and 18,000 dead weight tons, spread over 71 acres. A 7,881-ton ship lift transfer system will be completed next year. KSEW will expand to occupy facilities vacated by the Navy as it transfers from Karachi to Ormara. The Pakistan Navy Dockyard, which is adjacent to KSEW, already has facilities upgraded by the French during construction of Agosta-90B submarines.

The Pakistan Navy modernization efforts further expands existing China-Pakistan military manufacturing collaboration at Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) which has resulted in design and manufacturing of JF-17 fighter jets for Pakistan Air Force.

JF-17 Fighter Jet

In addition to designing and building military hardware together, Pakistan and China are also increasingly collaborating on manufacturing consumer appliances and products. The Pakistan-China economic corridor project includes setting up of several special economic zones for this purpose. A good example of this cooperation is Haier-Ruba special economic zone in Lahore.  Haier-Ruba joint venture in Pakistan has announced plans to start manufacturing laptops and smartphones in Lahore this year, according to the JV chairman Shah Faisal Afridi. The Haier-Ruba group is one of the largest manufacturers of polyester yarn and home appliances in the country.

The growth of both military and civilian manufacturing industries is helping to develop Pakistan's human capital and creating job opportunities for engineers, technicians and other workers. 

Pakistan has taken a page from China's industrialization playbook which shows that the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) led the nation's industrial growth, first with military hardware and then expanding into consumer and industrial product manufacturing.

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[Riaz Haq]

Damen Shipyards Launches Fourth Pakistan Navy OPV - Quwa


https://quwa.org/daily-news/damen-shipyards-launches-fourth-pakista...

On 21 February, Damen Shipyards launched the fourth Yarmouk-class offshore patron vessel (OPV) for the Pakistan Navy (PN) from its facilities in Galati, Romania.

Though the fourth Damen OPV ordered by the PN, this ship – i.e., PNS Yamama (274) – is the second of the ‘Batch-II’ variant, which is larger and more capable than the first pair of Yarmouk-class OPVs. The first Batch-II OPV, PNS Hunain, was launched for sea trials in September 2023.

The PN initiated its OPV program in 2017 through an order for two Damen OPV 1900s plus an option for two additional ships from the Netherlands. The PN inducted the first two ships – i.e., PNS Yarmouk and PNS Tabuk – in February 2020 and May 2020, respectively.

Based on Damen’s OPV 1900 design, the first two ships have a displacement of 2,300 tons each. The Yarmouk-class has a length of 90 m, top speed of 23 knots, endurance of 40 days, and crew of over 60 personnel. The PN acquired ships to support a wide range of missions, including maritime security and policing, surveillance and intelligence, and search-and-rescue, among others.

The Yarmouk-class OPVs will likely be the PN’s main asset for policing Pakistan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Basically, it will support the PN’s anti-smuggling/piracy, counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism, fishery control, and humanitarian and disaster-relief operations. This would free the PN’s frigate and corvette assets to focus on their core missions and, potentially, reduce the risk of damage in peacetime resulting from asymmetrical maritime missions.

That said, the PN does intend to leverage the Yarmouk-class OPVs in wartime. The first two Yarmouk-class OPVs can be configured with anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCM) and close-in-weapons-systems (CIWS), giving it long-range strike and point-defence anti-air capabilities. The Damen OPV 1900 can also carry two special mission containers, which the PN could use for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) or mine countermeasures (MCM), thus making these OPVs versatile when required.

With a displacement of 2,600 tons, the Batch-II OPV is larger than the preceding two ships and more capable in its anti-ship warfare (AShW) and anti-air warfare (AAW) potential. Based on the illustration of the ship released by Damen, the Batch-II can carry a supersonic-cruising ASCM (possibly the CM-302) in a two-by-two configuration as well as vertical launch system (VLS) cells for a medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, possibly the MBDA CAMM-ER…