TSAMTO, November 11. The first (out of four ordered) multi-purpose frigate of the Type-054A/P class has been handed over to the Pakistani Navy, the Chinese newspaper Global Times reported.
The frigate, designed and built by China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC), was handed over to the Pakistani Navy on November 8 during a ceremony held at the Hudong Zhonghua Shipyard (a division of CSSC) in Shanghai. According to the Pakistani Navy, the ship was named PNS Tughril.
According to CSSC, the frigate for the Pakistan Navy is the largest and most modern warship that China has ever exported.
As previously 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. Nevertheless, taking into account the transfer of the first ship only now, the delivery of all frigates by the end of the year is unlikely.
The launching ceremony of the Type-054A/P class lead frigate for the Pakistan Navy took place at Hudong Zhonghua on August 22, 2020. The second frigate was launched on January 29, 2021. In November 2019, a ceremony was held dedicated to the start of steel cutting for the construction of the second pair of multipurpose 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 detecting the Type-054A/P frigates of the Pakistani Navy have not yet been disclosed.
For reference: the armament of the PLA Navy frigate includes a 76-mm artillery mount, two 30-mm AU "Type-730A". The ship is equipped with a 32-container vertical launcher, which allows the use of HHQ-16 anti-aircraft guided missiles (firing range up to 40 km), two quadruple launchers with C-803 anti-ship missiles. To expand the capabilities to combat submarines, the frigate is equipped with a GAS installed on the hull, two RBU-1200 rocket launchers, two three-tube 324-mm torpedo tubes with light Yu-7 torpedoes. The ship can receive Ka-28 or Z-9C helicopters.