Pakistan continues ambitious Chinese-designed submarine program PHOTO

The great arms race in the strategic Indo-Pacific region continues with the keel laying of a new Chinese-designed Hangor-class submarine for the Pakistan Navy, which will be armed with cruise missiles and equipped with an independent airlift system.

As reported by Defensa, China is now a major supplier of defence systems to Pakistan, such as the latest generation of Hangor-class submarines, marking another step in the strategic alliance between Beijing and Islamabad that allows the latter to compete for naval supremacy in the ocean.

The latest step was taken on February 15 when the Pakistan Navy announced the laying of the keel, namely one of the rings, of the second Hangor-class submarine at facilities in Karachi. The ceremony was conducted by Admiral Naveed Ashraf, Chief of Naval Staff.

This model submarine is being designed and built with the assistance of China's advanced naval industry, and reflects an important step forward in the domestic construction of these advanced tactical and strategic assets through which Pakistan's naval power will be significantly enhanced.

Under the terms of the agreement between Pakistan and China, four of the eight contracted Hangor class submarines are currently under construction at Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry in China, with the remaining being manufactured at KS&EW's Karachi facility.

In December 2022, the keel of the first Pakistan-made Hangor class submarine was laid at the same shipyard. At the time, the Pakistan Navy described the event as a milestone in the history of warship building in their country.

While specific details of the Hangor class submarine are classified, it is widely known that it is an export variant of the Yuan class or Type 039A/041 of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). Pakistan agreed to buy eight vessels from China in 2015 to bolster its maritime security in the Indian Ocean.

At the signing of the agreement, authorities said the total number of units would be delivered to the Pakistan Navy between 2022 and 2028, but to date, none have yet been received, although the first of those built will be in China until the final stage for port and sea trials.

Admiral Amjad Khan Niazi, then Chief of Naval Staff of the Pakistan Navy, told the Global Times in an interview in January 2022 that the Hangor-class submarine project between China and Pakistan was making steady progress and that they would be equipped with air-independent propulsion (AIP). Many analysts believe it is based on the Stirling AIP system used in China Shipbuilding and Offshore International Company's (CSOC) S26 design.

As for armament, a Pakistani source said the submarine will be equipped with Babur III cruise missile developed and manufactured by Pakistan's official National Defense Complex (NDC), in addition to torpedoes and anti-ship missiles from China's Yu-6 and YC-82 models respectively.