On 06 September, the Pakistan Navy (PN) formally inducted two new multipurpose surface combatants – i.e., the MILGEM corvette PNS Babur, and the offshore patrol vessel (OPV) PNS Hunain. The two ships were acquired from Turkiye and the Netherlands, respectively.
The two programs – i.e., the PN MILGEM and the Damen OPV 1900/2600 – are key pieces of the PN’s fleet modernization and expansion efforts. In 2020, the PN leadership at the time revealed that the force was aiming to grow its surface fleet to as many as 50 ships, of which 20 will be “major surface vessels.”
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Background on PNS Hunain
PNS Hunain is the third of four Yarmouk-class OPVs the PN acquired from Damen Group of the Netherlands.
The PN’s OPV program was divided in two tranches. The first tranche consisted of two ships based on Damen’s OPV-1900 design, while the second batch was based on the larger OPV-2600.
On paper, both batches of the PN’s OPVs can carry ASCMs, while the Batch-II OPVs (including PNS Hunain) can also carry SAMs via a VLS configuration. However, since inducting these OPVs, the PN has yet to arm either one with such weapons.
It appears that the PN is primarily using its OPVs to support its maritime policing and coalition commitments. In other words, the ships are geared for asymmetrical operations, such as counter-terrorism (CT), and various sea enforcement tasks against trafficking, piracy, and narcotics.
However, by having these OPVs open to a potential anti-ship and anti-air configuration, the PN is leaving the door open to leveraging the OPVs for wartime missions.
The PN may order additional OPVs from Damen Group. In 2020, the PN leadership at the time said that it had “contracted” six OPVs of a “larger tonnage.” This was before the construction of the two OPV-2600s; thus, the PN may have up to four additional OPV-2600s planned.
Growing Naval Ambitions
Historically, the PN had received the least attention in the way of net-new acquisitions and support compared to its sister arms, the Pakistan Army (PA) and the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). Until recently, the PN had to lean on a mix of a few second-hand and technologically dated surface vessels (such as the ex-Royal Navy Type 21). The bulk of its deterrence element had come from its submarine fleet, which consisted of French-built boats like the Daphne-class, Agosta-70, and Agosta-90B.
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