China to Supply Pakistan With 8 New Stealth Attack Submarines
The Chinese government will supply eight modified diesel-electric attack submarines to Pakistan by the year 2028, reports Sputnik.
Four of the subs would be constructed in China and the rest in Pakistan.
Shaikh Rohail Asghar head of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Defence said the Pakistan Navy had inked a contract with China for submarines according to which the latter will construct four submarines in China and supply them to the Pakistan Navy in mid 2022-23.
The remaining four submarines will be constructed in Pakistan at the Karachi Shipyard and these will be handed over to the Pakistan Navy in 2028.
In April, a senior Pakistan Navy official announced that Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works (KSEW) had secured a contract to produce four of the eight submarines, which will be fitted with air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems, says a report in the Diplomat.
The defense deal is valued at $4 to $5 billion and China is expected to extend a long term loan at a low interest rate.
According to IHS Jane’s Fighting Ships the Type 041 Yuan-class is,“a diesel electric attack submarine (SSK), potentially with Stirling air independent propulsion, that is armed with YJ-2 (YJ-82) anti-ship missiles and a combination of Yu-4 (SAET-50) passive homing and Yu-3 (SET-65E) active/passive homing torpedoes.”
The export version of the vessel allegedly displaces about 2,300 tons, according to public sources.
Other media sources have reported that “Pakistan will also build two types of submarines with Chinese assistance: the Project S-26 and Project S-30. The vessels are to be built at the Submarine Rebuild Complex (SRC) facility being developed at Ormara, west of Karachi."
