On 07 October 2020, the Pakistan Navy (PN) appointed Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi as its new Chief of Naval Staff (CNS). Admiral Niazi will succeed Admiral Zafar Mahmoud Abbasi as CNS.
In his change-of-command speech, the outgoing CNS outlined the service’s modernization plans for 2030 across its surface, sub-surface, and aviation domains. Overall, Admiral Abbasi emphasized that the PN will aggressively expand its deployment capabilities, and, in parallel, its in-house development capacities.
The PN has already taken a number of organizational steps to absorb these upcoming changes.
First, the PN reformed its traditional destroyer and patrol craft squadrons into three Surface Task Groups (STG). The PN stationed STG 1, STG 2, and STG 3 at Gwadar, Ormara, and Karachi, respectively.
Second, the PN activated naval air stations in Pakistan’s west coast for day and night aviation operations.
Third, the PN revised its creeks area defence strategy to focus on offensive operations through integrated strike groups comprising of both Marines and Special Operations Forces (SOF) units.
Having set these foundations, Admiral Abbasi announced that the PN is working on the following goals.
Expanding the Surface Fleet to Over 50 Ships
Historically, the PN would operate around eight or nine ‘major’ surface ships (i.e., multi-mission frigates, corvettes, or destroyers with a displacement of over 2,000 tons). However, Adm. Abbasi highlighted that these small force size “constrained [Pakistan’s] regional footprint and influence.”
To eliminate this constraint, the PN is moving towards a fleet of over 50 ships, of which 20 will be “major surface ships.” In terms of major surface combatants, Adm. Abbasi revealed that the PN will receive four Type 054A/P frigates from China between 2021 to 2023. In addition, the four MILGEM corvettes will join the PN fleet from 2023 to 2025. The PN inducted its first 2,300-ton “corvette” – which is based on Damen Shipyard’s OPV-1900 design – in early 2020, and the second ship, PNS Tabouk, will join in November. The outgoing CNS added that “six additional ships of larger tonnage are being contracted.”
Including the four F-22P frigates, the PN currently has 14 ‘major’ surface combatants in the pipeline. Thus, additional ships are still within the PN’s procurement pipeline. To this end, Adm. Abbasi had outlined two main programs: the Jinnah-class frigate and the purchase of six ships of “larger tonnage.”
Adm. Abbasi clarified that the PN is acquiring four MILGEM corvettes and that the Jinnah-class frigate is a separate, but adjoining, program. One should note that the MILGEM corvettes the PN is receiving are also significantly modified variants of the Turkish Ada-class design. The most notable difference is the addition of a 16-cell vertical launch system (VLS) in the PN ships (the standard Ada-class lacks this feature).
The outgoing CNS stated, “under the MILGEM project, complete design knowhow will be transferred” to the PN, and that the fifth ship will be the first Jinnah-class frigate. Currently, the Jinnah-class is under the design and development phase. Adm. Abbasi’s statements seem to imply that Pakistan bought ownership of both the modified corvette design and the forthcoming frigate program.
It is unclear exactly how the Jinnah-class frigate factors into the PN’s fleet expansion plans. To achieve its fleet size of 20 ‘major surface vessels,’ the PN requires six additional ships. However, in the context of the Yarmouk-class corvette program, Adm. Abbasi said that the PN will sign for six more – and larger – vessels.
This statement would imply that the PN is looking to expand the OPV-1900-based fleet to eight ships from the current two in the fleet. This route would make sense from an affordability standpoint. Because these “corvettes” are built on commercial-grade standards, they offer lower acquisition costs.[1]
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