On March 15, the Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group Company Ltd launched the Pakistan Navy’s (PN) second Hangor-class submarine, PNS Shushuk, for sea trials, from its Shuangliu Base in Wuhan, China.
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The ceremony was attended by senior officials from Pakistan and China, including Vice Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ovais Ahmed Bilgrami, who served as the chief guest.
The lead boat, PNS Hangor, was launched from the same facility on 26 April, 2024. In January, the PN Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Adm. Naveed Ashraf, said that the boat will join the PN fleet “very soon.”
The PNS Hangor and PNS Shushuk are part of a multi-billion dollar deal Pakistan signed with China in 2015 for eight submarines (later complemented by four Type 054A/P frigates).
The contract also involved a transfer-of-technology (ToT) element that would see Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works (KSEW) build four of the submarines, with the other four coming from China.
The first four boats were originally scheduled for delivery in 2022 and 2023. However, the program ran into delays due to the pandemic and, as importantly, Germany’s refusal to release MTU diesel engines in a bid to curb China’s defence technology development.
To address the engine issue, the PN opted to wait for China to certify its indigenously-built CHD-620 diesel engine. With the diesel engine finally secured, the Hangor submarine project is progressing.
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