ISLAMABAD, Apr 4: The Pakistan Navy has inducted its second Milgem class corvette into its fleet, said the military’s official mouthpiece, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) today, as part of the navy’s ongoing bid to modernise itself.
Built as per a 2018 contract with T rkiye’s weapon conglomerate, ASFL Inc to replace its ageing platforms, the corvette named ‘PNS Khaibar’ is the second of four Milgem vessels which was added into Pakistan’s naval fleet.
The vessel features advanced sensors and CAMM-ER surface-to-air missiles to counter high-speed anti-ship threats, strengthening Pakistan’s naval presence in the Indian Ocean, in face of a far superior and technologically sophistacted Indian Navy.
Under this contract, two ships were to be constructed in T rkiye and the remaining two ships in Pakistan.
At the induction ceremony of the warship, Pakistan’s Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf said that the country’s “strategic location” along with its vital maritime trade and energy corridors, needed a potent naval force to safeguard national interests and ensure secure sea lines of communication (SLOCs), reports Dawn.
Ashraf further said that the corvette was equipped with “state of-the-art” platforms and niche technologies, enabling it to target “critical infrastructure and naval assets of the adversary”.
(UNI)
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