The Pakistani Navy has commissioned its first Chinese Hangor-Class submarine at Sanya on the Hainan Island, a major Chinese naval centre. The Hangor-class of submarines is a derivative of the Chinese Type-39A attack submarine. The submarine, PNS Hangor is the first of eight such vessels that the Chinese will be providing to the Pakistanis by 2028. Four of these vessels are being built in Karachi, while the other four have been built and launched by the China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Co. Ltd (CSOC), as reported by Naval News.What makes the Hangor-class vessels deadly is that they are equipped with an Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system. An AIP system allows conventional diesel-electric submarines to stay fully submerged for a longer duration of time as it does not have to come up to the surface to run its diesel engines to charge its batteries. A submarine equipped with such a system can stay submerged for two to three weeks. A conventional submarine without an AIP system has to surface or snorkel more frequently and hence becomes more vulnerable to aircraft and surface vessels. The commissioning of the submarine will bring the total number of operational AIP equipped submarines in the Pakistani fleet to four, which will grow to eleven by 2028. All three of Pakistan’s current fleet of Agosta-90B submarines are currently equipped with an AIP system provided to them by the Turkish firm STM, as reported by The Diplomat, based in the United States.On the other hand the Indian Navy currently has on its register 16 conventional, diesel electric submarines from three different classes, which are the Kalvari, Sindhughosh and Shishumar classes of submarines. With only the six submarines of the Kalvari class expected to get indigenously developed AIP systems, over the next few years. The Indian Navy is looking to induct six Type-214 submarines which will come equipped with an AIP system.
India’s 30 year 24 submarine building plan which was cleared by the CCS in 1999 is running way behind schedule. The rate of induction of new submarines is almost the same at which we are decommissioning the older one’s. This would be evident in maintaining the Minimum Force levels as per our operational doctrines.Also, this would certainly bring/ exert a lot of pressure on the existing fleet, more so when our adversary is augmenting their submarine fleet at a frantic pace. Need of the hour is to expedite the acquisition process and finalize the future induction plans.
Captain DK Sharma, Former Spokesperson, Indian Navy
The Indian Navy had devised a plan to induct 24 conventional submarines by 2030. Four submarines of the Sindhughosh-class, the Sindhughosh, Sindhudhvaj, Sindhuvir and Sindhurakshak have been retired by the navy. The Shishumar-class of submarines have recently gone through a mid-life upgrade and are expected to soldier on for a decade, as reported by Naval Technology. Thereby dulling the edge of the Indian Navy in this important domain of naval warfare.
