TSAMTO, May 17. According to the public relations service of the Armed Forces of Pakistan ISPR (Inter-Services Public Relations), at the enterprise of the Chinese company Hudong Zhonghua in Shanghai, the keel laying ceremony of the third (of the four ordered) Type-054A/P class frigate for the Pakistani Navy was held.
According to the representatives of the Pakistan Navy, after delivery, the Type-054A / P class frigates will become the most technologically advanced surface platform in the Pakistani navy and will make a significant contribution to maintaining peace and security in the Indian Ocean.
As reported by TSAMTO, the contract concluded in June 2017 for the supply of the first two Chinese-built Type-054A/P frigates to the Pakistani Navy became known at the end of 2017. In June 2018, a contract signing ceremony was held for the supply of two additional frigates of the series. The total cost of the sale was not disclosed. It was planned that the delivery would be fully completed in 2021, but now the program has been extended, and the delivery of the first ship has been postponed to the middle of this year.
The launch ceremony of the Type-054A/P class lead frigate for the Pakistan Navy was held at Hudong Zhonghua on August 22, 2020. The second was launched on January 29, 2021. In November 2019, a ceremony was held to start cutting steel for the construction of the second pair of frigates of the Type-054A/P class.
The Type-054A class frigate ("Jiangkai-2") is a modern warship adopted by the PLA Navy in 2007. The length of the frigate is 134 m, the maximum width is 16 m, the displacement is 4000 tons, the crew is 165 people. The ship is equipped with a combined CODAD-type GEU with four SEMT Pielstick diesel engines and develops a maximum speed of 27 knots. The cruising range is 3,800 nautical miles at a speed of 18 knots.
The exact data on the armament and means of detection of the Type-054A/P frigates in the version for the Pakistani Navy has not yet been disclosed. The armament of the PLA Navy frigate includes a 76-mm artillery installation, two 30-mm Type-730A AU. The ship is equipped with a 32-container vertical launcher that allows the use of HHQ-16 anti-aircraft guided missiles (firing range up to 40 km), two quad launchers with C-803 anti-ship missiles. To expand its anti-submarine capabilities, the frigate is equipped with a hull-mounted gas system, two RBU-1200 rocket launchers, and two three-tube 324-mm torpedo tubes with Yu-7 light torpedoes. The ship can take on board Ka-28 or Z-9C helicopters.