TSAMTO, August 17. On August 15, the launch ceremony of the lead corvette of the Ada class (MILGEM), intended for the Pakistani Navy, took place at the Istanbul Naval Shipyard in Istanbul.
During the event, held in the presence of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani President Arif Alvi, the ship was named (280) "Babur".
As reported by TSAMTO, in July 2018, the command of the Pakistani Navy signed an official contract for the supply of four Ada-class corvettes developed under the MILGEM program with a consortium of Turkish companies. The main contractor for the delivery was ASFAT AS (Military Plants and Shipyard Management Joint Stock Company). The exact cost of the sale was not disclosed, but according to media reports, it amounted to $ 1.5 billion. Under the terms of the contract, two ships will be built in Istanbul, and two more will be built at the KSEW (Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works) enterprise in Karachi. The agreement provides for the transfer of relevant technologies and intellectual property rights to the ship's project to Pakistan, as well as the training of engineering personnel.
Cutting of the first steel for the lead corvette began at the Istanbul Naval Shipyard in Istanbul in September 2019. On June 4, 2020, the keel laying ceremony of this ship took place. It is expected that it will enter the combat structure of the Pakistani Navy in 2022. Steel cutting for the second corvette of the series in Pakistan began at the KSEW enterprise in June 2020. The keel was laid on October 25, 2020. According to the plans, the ship will be delivered to the Pakistani Navy in early 2024.
The laying of the keel of the third corvette at the Istanbul Naval Shipyard in Istanbul took place on April 31, 2021, steel cutting for the fourth ship (in Pakistan) began on June 15, 2021. As planned, the construction of all the ships will be completed by 2025.
According to ASFAT AS, the maximum length of the corvette for the Pakistan Navy is 108.2 m, the maximum width is 14.8 m, and the displacement is 2926 tons. The ship will be equipped with a combined main power plant CODAG (Combined Diesel and Gas Turbine) with a gas turbine engine LM2500 and will be able to reach a speed of more than 26 knots, a cruising range of 3,500 nautical miles at a speed of 15 knots.
According to available information, the Ada corvette project was adapted to the requirements of the Pakistani Navy, including equipping with a 16-container vertical launcher that allows launching LY-80 missiles. The HQ-16 air defense system, which is a ground-based export version of the LY-80, has already been in service with the Pakistan Armed Forces since 2017.
The ship will also be equipped with a radar with an active phased array SMART-S Mk.2, which allows detecting and tracking up to 500 air and surface targets at ranges of up to 250 km, with the ARES-2NC electronic reconnaissance system of Aselsan.
