ISLAMABAD – Pakistan Navy has signed two deals with China and Turkey tomodernize its aging submarine fleet.
Pakistan Navy purchased eight Hangor (Type 042 Yuan-class) submarines fromChina in 2015. In the following year, the navy signed a $350 million dealwith Turkey to modernize the Agosta 90B submarines.
Pakistan Navy’s Special Service Group has been using Cosmos MG110 midgetsubmarines for carrying out operations in its littoral territories.However, these submarines are nearing the end of their operational lifespan.——————————
According to the Ministry of Defense Production (MoDP) Year Book 2015–2016,the navy listed the construction of an indigenous midget submarine as atarget to replace the aging Cosmos MG110 submarine.
Recent satellite images have revealed that Pakistan Navy has completed theconstruction of the midget submarine listed in MoDP 2015-2016.
From the images above it is clear is that the submarine is 55 feet long and8 feet wide. It has a round-shaped nose, vertical rudder, and a propeller.——————————
The submarine will be easy to operate and maintain due to its simple hullconstruction. The midget submarine is larger than the Swimmer DeliveryVehicle (SDV) and smaller than the MG110 midget submarines, visible fromthe images above.
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However, the snorkel of the submarine isn’t visible in the images and itsdisplacement remains unknown for now.
Defense and aerospace contributor at Forbes, H. I. Sutton, states thatPakistan Navy’s midget submarine design is completely indigenous anddoesn’t seem to be imported.
The development of an indigenous submarine is a testament to PakistanNavy’s capabilities. While Pakistan has always employed sea denialstrategy, the Navy now has the new midget submarine at its disposal tolaunch an offensive in case of a conflict with India.
*Via: The Diplomatlink*
