TSAMTO, May 12. The command of the Pakistani Navy on its Twitter page announced the ceremony of handing over two Type-054A/P class multipurpose frigates to Pakistan on May 10 at the Hudong Zhonghua enterprise in Shanghai.
Thus, all four warships of this class built in China under the contract concluded in 2018 were transferred to the Pakistani Navy. The new ships were named "Tippu Sultan" (Tippu Sultan) and "Shahjahan" (Shahjahan). As planned, in the near future the frigates will make the transition to the home port.
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 was signed for the supply of two additional frigates of the series. The total cost of the sale was not disclosed. It was originally planned that the delivery would be fully completed in 2021. However, the project is behind schedule. The new ships will form the basis of the Pakistani fleet and replace the outdated Tariq-class frigates (Type-21).
The launching ceremony of the Type-054A/P class lead frigate, "Tagril" (Tughril), took place at the Hudong Zhonghua enterprise on August 22, 2020. The second ship, the Taimur, was launched on January 29, 2021. In November 2019, a ceremony was held to mark the start of steel cutting for the construction of the second pair of Type-054A/P class frigates. The launching of the third frigate took place in August 2021, the fourth – in December 2021.
The lead frigate of the series, Tagril, was handed over to the Pakistani Navy during a ceremony held at the Hudong Zhonghua enterprise in Shanghai on November 8, 2021. He joined the Pakistani Navy in January 2022, and the Taimur on August 26, 2022.
The Type-054A/P is a modified version of the Type-054A frigate of the PLA Navy and is designed for anti-submarine, anti-ship and air defense.
The Type-054A class frigate (Jiangkai-2) is a modern warship adopted by the Navy of the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA) in 2007. The length of the frigate is 134 m, the maximum width is 16 m, the displacement is 4050 tons, the crew is 165 people. The ship is equipped with a combined CODAD-type GEU with four 16 PA6V-280 STC diesel engines with a capacity of 5700 kW from SEMT Pielstick and develops a maximum speed of 27 knots. The 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. The armament of the PLA Navy frigate includes a 76-mm artillery mount PJ26, two 30-mm AU "Type-1130". The ship is equipped with a 32-container vertical launcher, which allows the use of anti-aircraft guided missiles HHQ-16 (target range up to 40 km), two quadruple launchers with anti-ship missiles C-803. To expand the capabilities to combat submarines, the frigate is equipped with GAS installed on the hull, two RBU-1200 rocket-propelled bombing launchers, two three-tube 324-mm torpedo tubes with light Yu-7 torpedoes. The ship can receive Ka-28 or Z-9C helicopters.
