Reviving an old thread because the PN is modernizing and needs to plan on how to push out into its EEZ and beyond. Satellite communications are becoming more cheaper and the need to protect CPEC traffic will be the responsibility of the PN. It needs to find a way to do it cheaper and with quicker reaction times if it is to convince Chinese commercial partners of shifting factories to Pakistani SEZs in an ever changing world.
Laying sensors tethered to the undersea continental shelf is probably the most efficient means of getting at the different salinity layers. Relaying the delay quick enough for it to be processed and become actionable for other assets to investigate will be the issue for the PN in the years to come.
This is not just for military purposes but to keep an eye on any activity in our EEZ.
https://media.springernature.com/lw785/springer-static/image/chp:10.1007/978-1-4939-0755-7_5/MediaObjects/978-1-4939-0755-7_5_Fig1_HTML.png
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4939-0755-7_5
The time has come that Pakistan and China should look into setting an underwater great wall for the Pakistani Coast. The systems has had a few years to mature, and there have probably been enough time for upgrades to be fielded. The Advantage of a system where the sensor portion is taken off the shoulders of the "shooter" platform is the shooter platform can be a smaller even unmanned system to swarm the enemy force.
https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2016/05/undersea-warfare-gamechangers-china.html
https://www.news.com.au/technology/...g/news-story/97c5bc51015df6e933756b17896c6e14
The technology is there to power these sensors through submarine cables, and relay the data back
http://en.people.cn/n3/2016/0714/c202936-9086169.html
but for further out sensors, relaying data via satellites would be more prudent.
Guided by data from underwater and shore based sensors as well as space based sensors and relayed on multiple secure datalinks, a swarm of cheap small AIP submarines could lay in wait with modern Torpedos and Anti-ship cruise missiles, like wolf packs of old; reborn in the form of designs like the Andrasta SSK. laying a few hundred kilometers off shore, they could free up the other assets to persue offensive operations.
Furthermore: the PN really needs to build over the horizon surface radars at multiple sites to get another means of checking the surface traffic. The surface radar could potentially be enhanced with the new Chinese Quantum Chips to better resolution and improved range.
https://www.popsci.com/china-quantum-radar-detects-stealth-planes-missiles
Running the underwater data and surface radar data through a supercomputer, and spot checking the suspicious target with satellite Photo(EO) and/or SAR when available, the right assets can be deployed to investigate the contact. (a small fleet of cube-sats with these sensors can allow one satellite to pass overhead at least hourly)
Here is literally the anaysis of Chinese Over the Horizon technology
https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/36697003.pdf
Some background Information:
https://fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/docs/aswcncpt.htm