TSAMTO, April 8. The command of the Pakistan Navy has adopted the fourth and last high-speed missile boat of the Azmat class, built at the Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works (KSEW) in Karachi.
The 63-meter boat (1028) "Haibat" (Haibat) was launched on November 27, 2019, the keel laying took place in March 2017.
As reported by TSAMTO, in December 2010, the Pakistani Navy, following the results of the tender, concluded an agreement with the China International Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Corporation CSOIC (China Shipbuilding & Offshore Intemational Corporation) for the supply of two high-speed missile boats (as a result, 4 boats were ordered under this program).
According to the terms of the contract, the lead ship of the series was built by the Chinese Xingang Shipyard in Tianjin (China) on the basis of the modified project of the Houjian class missile boat ("Type 037/2") of the PLA Navy, and the construction of ships, starting with the second, was carried out at the KSEW enterprise under the technology transfer agreement.
The lead ship of the series, (1013) "Azmat", joined the Pakistani navy in June 2012. KSEW started construction of the second boat in November 2011. It received the name (1014) "Deshat" (Deshat) and was adopted by the Pakistani Navy in June 2014. The contract for the construction of the third ship was signed in June 2013, and in June 2014, the command of the Pakistani Navy confirmed the order of the fourth ship of the series. The third ship, (1027) Himmat, was commissioned on July 28, 2017.
Steel cutting for the fourth ship began on December 29, 2016, and keel laying took place on March 30, 2017.
In a press release of the Pakistan Navy, the Khaibat boat is described as "the first high-speed missile boat of the national project" and it is indicated that the project was developed by Maritime Technologies Complex (MTC) in Karachi.
Earlier it was reported that the third and fourth boats are being built according to a slightly modified project, the details of which are not disclosed. As Jane's Defense Weekly reported in its 2017-2018 Yearbook. The Ministry of Defense Industry of Pakistan described the fourth boat as "the first warship designed and built in Pakistan without the involvement of foreign technical specialists." This explains the wording in the Pakistan Navy press release.
The length of the basic version of the Azmat class boat is 63 m, width – 8.8 m, displacement – 566 tons, crew – 15 people. The boat is made using low-visibility technologies, equipped with four diesel engines and develops a maximum speed of 30 knots. The cruising range is 1000 nautical miles at a speed of 18 knots.
As previously reported, the ship's armament consists of sea-based cruise missiles (KRMB) "Harbah" (Harbah), two quadruple PU with eight anti-ship missiles PKR C-802A /CSS-N-8 "Saccade" (Saccade), a double-barreled 25-mm artillery installation, a six-barreled 30-mm AU "Type-630". The press release of the Pakistan Navy states that the new boat will be equipped with anti-ship missiles and reconnaissance equipment of national production.
