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Pakistan Navy to Purchase Frigates from China

Chinese supersonic AShM's aren't proven designs like subsonic Harpoon & C-802. AFAIK, PLAN hasn't adopted those either and is equipping newer ships with YJ-83.

There are considerations of size (i.e. the impact on RCS) and cost as well.



As I have mentioned earlier, if naval HQ-9 is 6.8m (inc. booster), it will fit the new 7m Chinese VLS. If PN wants a third party missile which was designed according to their own VLS, then the feasibility, integration (with CMS, air sur. radar, VLS, etc) and testing costs have to be paid as well.

YJ-18 is the new AShM of PLAN with capability of supersonic final approach.


http://www.janes.com/article/73618/image-suggests-yj-18-anti-ship-missile-has-entered-plan-service

https://www.uscc.gov/Research/china...pabilities-and-implications-us-forces-western
 
Two Type 21's are equipped with Harpoon and the other two with LY-60 SAM. Two were retired, one with Harpoon (later fitted to PNS Alamgir) & the other with LY-60.

The primary role was ASW for all six. IMO, Ada corvettes (with or without VLS) are more suitable for this role.

I don't think Chinese frigates are meant to replace 4 out of 6 Type 21's. Those will increase surface fleet numbers.

No offense to Turks, but I-Class frigates don't offer anything over CSOC 4000 ton frigate. PN doesn't need a frigate that has only 16 VLS cells for American semi-active ESSM (though quad packable), no LACM integration possibility with Mk 41, American AShM and ASW torpedo.

I definitely see your point but it seems rather costly and not efficient enough when you are thinking of integrating LACMs on vessels weighting around 3500-4000 tonnes without having a large and well tailored cooperative engagement network involving aircraft, ground based radars and ships that have advanced sensors and capability to illuminate enemy targets at a descent range.
 

And deployed from VLS on board destroyers and not frigates/corvettes.
Those are large (2-2.5 ton) missiles.

I definitely see your point but it seems rather costly and not efficient enough when you are thinking of integrating LACMs on vessels weighting around 3500-4000 tonnes without having a large and well tailored cooperative engagement network involving aircraft, ground based radars and ships that have advanced sensors and capability to illuminate enemy targets at a descent range.

I didn't get the illumination part - illuminate a land target with laser ?

Babur LACM uses INS+GPS and TERCOM/DSMAC which can guide the missile when it is no longer within the on-board radar's range (i.e. no more mid course updates).
 
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And deployed from VLS on board destroyers and not frigates/corvettes.
Those are large (2-2.5 ton) missiles.



I didn't get the illumination part - illuminate a land target with laser ?

Babur LACM uses INS+GPS and TERCOM/DSMAC which can guide the missile when it is no longer within the on-board radar's range (i.e. no more mid course updates).

I beg your pardon for my translation. I directly translated the term from our terminology which is a process. The point is I meant the guiding/fire control apparatus of the platforms. On my statement above, the issue is not about the missile and its specifications but rather about the platforms and systems that are used to fire it.
 
I beg your pardon for my translation. I directly translated the term from our terminology which is a process. The point is I meant the guiding/fire control apparatus of the platforms. On my statement above, the issue is not about the missile and its specifications but rather about the platforms and systems that are used to fire it.

You mean the platform, system and radar that will help fire/guide the ship based Babur LACM?
 
You mean the platform, system and radar that will help fire/guide the ship based Babur LACM?

Yes. But basically not only the ship itself because for frigates around 4000 tonnes, it is highly likely that the range of the Babur missile will be greater than that of the radars and sensors of the hosting platform. It is not an impossible or bad option. It is just that when you plan such an armament, in order to have the most effective (both technically and financially) solution, one shall posses the capabilities I mentioned at the very beginning.
 
And deployed from VLS on board destroyers and not frigates/corvettes.
Those are large (2-2.5 ton) missiles.



I didn't get the illumination part - illuminate a land target with laser ?

Babur LACM uses INS+GPS and TERCOM/DSMAC which can guide the missile when it is no longer within the on-board radar's range (i.e. no more mid course updates).

All top weapons in PLAN are mostly deployed from destroyers then they are deployed on submarines and smaller frigates.

YJ-18 will be deployed on frigates and submarines.
 
Yes. But basically not only the ship itself because for frigates around 4000 tonnes, it is highly likely that the range of the Babur missile will be greater than that of the radars and sensors of the hosting platform. It is not an impossible or bad option. It is just that when you plan such an armament, in order to have the most effective (both technically and financially) solution, one shall posses the capabilities I mentioned at the very beginning.

Regarding aircraft, PN employs its fleet of MPA and has support of a PAF JF-17 squadron dedicated for maritime strike.

Ground based radars and coastal anti-ship batteries of Zarb (C-602?) missile are operational.

CSOC 4000 ton frigate (based on the Type 054A) has a phased array radar and OTH radar (with range upto 500 km). The VLS for PN ships will probably be the new 7m Chinese VLS which can fit Babur LACM.
 
POSSIBLE DETAILS OF PAKISTAN’S FRIGATE PURCHASE FROM CHINA
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The commanding officer of a Pakistan Navy frigate on a goodwill visit to China told Shanghai TV that the Pakistan Navy will procure the Type 054A frigate from China.

The Zulfiqar-class (F-22P) frigate PNS Saif was welcomed to Wusong Naval Port on December 01. The PNS Saif’s commanding officer, Capt. Shahzad Iqbal, told local media that the ship travelled “more than 9,000 nautical miles from Pakistan to Shanghai,” stopping by Sri Lanka and Thailand while en route to China.

Pakistan operates four F-22P frigates. Derived from the Type 053H3 patrol frigate, the F-22P is equipped for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and anti-ship warfare (AShW) operations.

It is armed with two quad-cell (2×4) launchers for the C-802 anti-ship missile (AShM) and two triple (2×3) launchers for ET-52C lightweight ASW torpedoes. The F-22P is also equipped with an eight-cell FM-90N surface-to-air missile (SAM) system for short-range air defence (SHORAD) coverage.

Besides goodwill interaction, the PNS Saif will also participate in exercises with the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). During a Chinese media visit, Capt. Iqbal told Shanghai TV that the Pakistan Navy will procure Type 054A frigates from China. The Type 054A is the mainstay of the PLAN fleet.

Notes & Comments:

In October, the outgoing Chief of Naval Staff Adm. Muhammad Zakaullah announced that Pakistan had reached a deal to procure new frigates from China. Zakaullah did not specify the model of the new frigates or the number of ships the Pakistan Navy will be procuring. Reports from 2012 had pegged the Pakistan Navy procuring upgraded or improved versions of the F-22P.

If Shanghai TV is correct, Pakistan could be procuring one of the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation’s (CSIC) 4,000-ton frigate designs. According to IHS Jane’s, the 4,000-ton frigate design is based on the Type 054A. It has an endurance of 21 days, length of 135 m, range of 4,000 nautical miles (cruising at 18 knots) and top speed of 26 knots. It has 32 vertical-launch system (VLS) cells, one 76 mm main naval gun, two 30 mm guns and a 24-cell FL-3000N point-defence missile system (PDMS).

The CSIC 4,000-ton frigate is available in two variants: one with a target-illuminator to guide the semi-active radar-homing (SARH) HQ-16 SAM. The second is without a target-illuminator, but longer VLS cells. The second variant appears to have been designed to carry SAMs with active terminal-stage seekers and potentially other kinds of missiles, such as land-attack cruise missiles (LACM).


CSOC 4,000-ton frigate with target illuminator.




CSOC 4,000-ton frigate without target illuminator, but with longer/higher VLS.



The latter variant is interesting in that it would maximize the utility of the 4,000-ton frigate’s use of active phased-array radar (APAR) and passive over-the-horizon radar (OTHR). Using the China Educational Instrument and Equipment Corp (CEIEC) SLR-66 as a benchmark, the frigate’s APAR could have a range of 280 km, while the OTHR would have a range of 500 km. The OTHR would provide the ship with stand-off range air and surface surveillance coverage, while the APAR can guide long-range SAM and/or AShM. The VLS cells would bode well for potential LACM usage (Pakistan has the 700-km range Babur 2). Pakistan could also configure the ship to carry long-range SAM for area-wide anti-air warfare coverage.

The caveat to this is whether Pakistan will in fact proceed with the CSOC 4,000-ton frigates as shown in the models, or a pared down model to reduce costs. However, if pared down, these ships are still large enough to be upgraded with APAR, OTHR and heightened VLS cells in the future.
 
type 21 are on borrowed time, what makes you think PN will keep them beyond 2025?(best case scenrio for Chinese frigates is 2025)
turkish deal is still not confirmed though likely, but will be taking more time than chinese frigates

And yet, age didn't stop PN from acquiring the PNS Alamgir and paying for it's refurbishment. Alamgir is roughly of the same age as the last Type 21's (Tippu Sultan and Shah Jahan).
 
Folks where is th source of the number on order, of course other than speculation and non official sources, on various threads it states a single 054a is on order, usually at least pair to 4 ships are ordered for the type for a fleet ??
 
I think they will be ordered piecemeal. Probably 1 for now and more when more $$$ is available. The question is which variant? I am hoping that instead of the HQ-16 and target illuminator, they go for a longer vls tube with DK10
 
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