On 26 July, the Pakistan Navy (PN) announced that it took delivery of its third Yarmook-class offshore patrol vessel (OPV), PNS Hunain, from Damen Group’s shipyard in Galati, Romania. As of 09 August, PNS Hunain was en-route to Pakistan from Romania. The fourth OPV is undergoing sea trials.
PNS Hunain is the first of two Yarmook-Class Batch-II ships. This pair is based on Damen’s OPV-2600 design, which is larger and more capable than the OPV-1900-based tranche already in service with the PN, i.e., PNS Yarmook and PNS Tabuk.
Construction of the Batch-II OPVs began in October 2022, with PNS Hunain beginning sea trials in September 2023, while the fourth ship was launched in February 2024.
Besides the greater size and displacement, the OPV-2600 can carry surface-to-air missiles (SAM) from a vertical launch system (VLS), giving the PN’s Batch-II OPVs credible short-to-medium-range air defence capabilities comparable to the fleet’s larger corvettes and frigates.
In addition, the PN is expected to configure the PNS Hunain and its forthcoming sister ship with anti-ship cruising missiles (ASCM), a main air and surface surveillance radar, electronic support measures (ESM) suite, and multirole helicopter. In effect, the Batch-II OPVs will be fully capable combatants.
Currently, however, it is unclear when the PN plans to fully configure PNS Hunain – or, for that matter, its earlier OPVs – as intended. Thus far, none of the OPVs have been armed with ASCMs, for example. For now it seems that the primary role of the OPVs is to support sea policing and/or low-intensity operations, such as counter-insurgency, counter–terrorism, anti-piracy, and anti-smuggling missions. PNS Hunain is coming to Pakistan without its VLS and SAM load, at least for the time being.
It is also worth noting that the Damen OPV-1900/2600 designs can also carry containerized modules for different missions, including anti-submarine warfare (ASW), mine countermeasures vessel (MCMV), and humanitarian and disaster relief (HADR) operations, like search-and-rescue (SAR).
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Why the PN Could Expand its OPV Program
There are a number of technical and cost reasons why the PN could pursue additional OPVs, especially from Damen Group, in the near future.
First, the PN has an active interest in assuming a more engaged role in the Arabian Sea across both its multinational coalition commitments and as a naval power. The Yarmook-class OPVs provide the PN with a sufficiently capable platform to support most of the missions managed by Combined Task Force (CTF)- 150 and CTF-151, which are primarily focused on anti-piracy and anti-terrorism operations.
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