The Pakistan Navy (PN) has held a steel cutting ceremony for its 5th Hangor-class submarine, the first to be built indigenously in Pakistan.
As informed, the ceremony took place at Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works (KS&EW) on 9 December, commemorating the Golden Jubilee of Hangor Day.
The latest Hangor-class submarine is capable to undertake war and peacetime roles as per maritime dictates, according to the navy. The submarine possesses advanced stealth features to operate under a multi-threat environment and its sensors are integrated with a command & control system which can simultaneously track engage several targets at standoff ranges.
The navy officials revealed that the Submarine would be named PNS TASNIM upon commissioning, in honor of the heroic action of Hangor crew led by Vice Admiral (Retd) Ahmad Tasnim.
On the occasion of the steel cutting ceremony, the Chief of the Naval Staff expressed gratitude to all involved in construction activities and termed the occasion as another event of deepening relation of Pakistan and China.
The Hangor-class submarines are an export variant of China’s Yuan-class Type-041, diesel-electric submarines. In January 2017, the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) of the PN, Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah, announced that the new Chinese submarines would be christened the Hangor-class, in honor of the Daphne diesel-electric submarines (SSK) the PN procured from France in the late 1960s. The submarines are 76 meters long, with a draught of 6.2 meters. They feature a displacement of 2800 tonnes and are able to achieve a speed of 10 knots.
Under the agreement signed with China, out of eight, four submarines will be made at Karachi Shipyard.