Pakistan Navy Receives First Type 054 Frigate from Chinese Shipyard

Pakistan Navy on Monday officially took delivery of the first Type 054A/P frigate from China, the largest warship the country has ever exported.

The PNS Tughril was commissioned at Hudong Zhonghua (HZ) Shipyard, China. It is the first of four Type 054 frigates being constructed by China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC) for the Pakistan Navy. The ship has surface-to-surface, surface-to-air and underwater fire power besides extensive surveillance potentials, the Navy claims. It is equipped with Combat Management and Electronic Warfare system along with modern self-defense capabilities.

Compared to previous Chinese frigates, the new ship has better air defense capability, as it is equipped with an improved radar system and a larger amount of missiles with a longer range, Zhang Junshe, a senior research fellow at the PLA Naval Research Academy, had told the Global Times earlier, noting that the Type 054A frigate also has world-class stealth capability.