China Begins Construction of Advanced Type 054AP Class Frigates for Pakistan; New Warships to Protect Gwadar Port

China’s Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard in Shanghai has reportedly begun construction of new Type 054AP Class frigates for the Pakistani Navy, with the South Asian state having announced an order for four of the warships on June 1st 2018. The frigates will become by far the most advanced and capable platforms in the Pakistani Navy’s surface fleet, and will serve as an excellent complement to the four 039B Class submarines the services has also ordered from China. Sale of advanced naval arms represents part of a comprehensive effort by China to aid its Western neighbour in strengthening its ability to wage war at sea - with China investing heavily in Pakistan ports and infrastructure to facilitate better maritime trade which will considerable benefit both countries. The port of Gwadar in particular, which has seen regular visits from China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy warships, will see its security enhanced considerably as Pakistan is provided with more advanced capabilities. China has also provided Pakistan with advanced CM-400AKG anti ship missiles - an air launched variant of the YJ-12 which is compatible with the Sino-Pakistani JF-17 Thunder single engine light fighters. These missiles are capable of engaging targets at speeds of up to Mach 4 and ranges up to 400km - and allow Pakistan to threaten hostile surface warships far from its shores.

Pakistani Air Force JF-17 Fighter with CM-400AKG  Long Range Anti Ship Missiles 

Type Type 054 Class first entered service in the People’s Liberation Army Navy in 2008, though only 28 of these vessels are currently in service. The PLA has instead prioritised investment in the acquisition of heavier destroyers and lighter cruisers. The Type 054 has seen export orders from both Thailand and Pakistan, and is one of the most capable warships of its kind in the world. The frigates displace approximately 4,000 metric tons and are equipped with state of the art Type 382, Type 344, Type 345, MR-36A and RM-1290 radars alongside advanced sonar systems. While Pakistan had previously sought to integrate Western sensor systems on Chinese warships due to their superior capabilities, considerable advances recently made in Chinese sensor technology eclipsing all Western competitors other than the United States mean that such requests are no longer made. As Cao Weidong, a senior researcher at the PLA's Naval Military Studies Research Institute, stated in regards to this development: “it seems that all weapons and radars on the new ship will be Chinese products, which reflects our progress in the industry and the Pakistani Navy's confidence in our technology and capability… I believe the reason they chose our (frigate) type is that ours is one of the few that can carry out all of the air-defence, anti-ship and anti-submarine tasks.”

The Type 054 Class are capable of deploying a variety of advanced munitions, with 32 vertical launch cells carrying either HQ-16 medium range surface to air missiles and Yu-8 anti submarine rockets. Pakistan currently deploys a advanced ground based variant of the HQ-16, which is its most capable surface to air missile system. The HQ-16 will provide an engagement range of over 50km against both missiles and aircraft, and provides the warships with a high degree of survivability. The warships are also capable of carrying a single helicopter and deploy a number of guns, decoy launchers and torpedo launchers. The Type 054 Class also carry 36 Type 87 anti submarine rockets. Despite only four of the Type 054AP Class frigates being acquired their addition will, according to a number of analysts, double the overall fighting capacity of the Pakistani surface fleet - which at present leaves much to be desired.