TSAMTO, December 10. On December 9, at the enterprise of the Pakistani company KSEW in Karachi, a cutting ceremony of the first steel was held for the construction of the fifth Hangor-class DPL ("Type-039B"), which looks little different from the previously developed "Type-039A".
Information about this is posted on the Pakistan Strategic Forum Twitter page.
Type 039A (Yuan Class) is the first diesel-electric submarine with an air-independent power plant developed for the PLA Navy. It is considered one of the lowest-noise submarines in service with the PLA Navy.
The armament of the Type-039A is made up of six 533-mm torpedo tubes that launch torpedoes of national production, including Yu-6, as well as Russian torpedoes.
As reported by TSAMTO, the purchase of submarines was approved by the Pakistani government in April 2015. In July 2016, representatives of Pakistan and China reached an agreement on the conclusion of a multibillion-dollar contract for the supply of 8 submarines to the Pakistani navy.
In August 2016, the head of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly of Pakistan on Defense, Sheikh Rohale Asghar, officially confirmed for the first time that China would supply the Pakistani Navy with eight submarines to ensure the defense of coastal areas.
According to the agreement, four submarines will be built in China and delivered to the Pakistan Navy in 2022-2023. The remaining four submarines are to be built in Pakistan at KSEW (Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works) and transferred to the Pakistani Navy by 2028.
