China has started construction of an export-version of one of its advanced warships and will deliver it to Pakistan as part of a major arms deal, according to China State Shipbuilding Corp, a large State-owned defense contractor.
A report carried by the China Daily says the ship is a version of the Chinese Navy’s most advanced guided missile frigate.
The ship is under construction at the Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard in Shanghai.
The China Daily’s report says the ship will be equipped with modern detection and weapon systems and will be capable of anti-ship, anti-submarine and air-defense operations.
In a statement posted on Twitter, the Navy has said that once constructed, the warship will serve as one of the largest and technologically advanced platforms for the Navy and strengthen the country’s capability to respond to future challenges, maintain peace and stability and the balance of power in the Indian Ocean region.
It will also support the Pakistani Navy’s initiative of securing sea lanes for international shipping by patrolling distant waters, the statement added.
The China Daily report has claimed that Type 054A is the best frigate in service with the PLA Navy. It has cited military sources to have said that the ship has a fully loaded displacement of about 4,000 metric tons and is equipped with advanced radars and missiles. About 30 Type 054As are in service with the PLA Navy, said the report.
Cao Weidong, a senior researcher at the PLA’s Naval Military Studies Research Institute, has been quoted in the report to have said that unlike in the past all weapons and radars on the new ship will be Chinese products. This reflects our progress in the industry and the Pakistani Navy’s confidence in our technology and capability, he said.
“I believe the reason they chose our type is that ours is one of the few that can carry out all of the air-defense, anti-ship and anti-submarine tasks,” he said further.
The report also quoted an anonymous source to have said that the service of Type 054APs will double the combat power of Pakistan Navy’s surface fleet.
In June last year, Pakistan Navy had announced that it was purchasing two multirole Type 054A frigates from China for bolstering its war-fighting capability. The navy had said that Pakistan’s fleet of Type054A warships would grow to four by 2021.
The PLA Navy has about 30 of the Type 054A ships, each of which has a loaded displacement of 4,000 metric tonnes and is equipped with advanced radars and missiles.
Published in Daily Times, January 3rd 2019
