The MSL Advanced Towed Array Sonar (ATAS) that is the most technologically advanced system publicly revealed thus far. It has been designed for the demanding Arabian Sea environment, with its complex thermal conditions, varying salinity and coastal acoustic clutter.
Previous systems operated by the Navy were badly dated, overly complicated, bulky and heavy. By the 1990s, they were also in need of a new array. Therefore, officials decided that an indigenous unit should be designed. The result was a system deemed superior to similar types available to Pakistan on the market, and efforts are being made to export it to friendly navies in the Arabian Gulf region.
Development was undertaken with possible export sales in mind, and therefore support issues were factored into the program. The ATAS is expected to be retrofitted to existing submarines as a stand-alone unit on the Agosta-70s, and integrated into the SUBTICS combat management system on the Agosta-90Bs. It will also be fitted to the next-generation submarine, currently expected to be the HDW Type-214, for which negotiations are at an advanced stage, and the future corvette, for which the Turkish Milgem corvette is the likely candidate.
New systems developed in conjunction by MTC and MSL will be revealed at Pakistan's biannual defense show, IDEAS2008, on Nov. 24-28. According to Commodore S. Sarfraz, an MTC spokesman and head of the ATAS program, the latest system to be revealed at IDEAS will be an electronic warfare system. Though further details were not forthcoming, the EW system is the first of a family of such systems. These will initially be shore-based but are being developed for shipborne applications at a later date.
Pakistan's indigenous maritime systems industry is therefore making steady progress in terms of its product range and complexity, and should benefit handsomely from the current naval expansion program. ■
