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Sea Trials For PAKISTAN NAVY’s First Upgraded Agosta 90B Scheduled in Early 2020:
The Sea Trials for PAKISTAN NAVY’s first Upgraded Agosta 90B Submarine is scheduled in the early part of upcoming 2020 year. PAKISTAN NAVY has given the contract to Two Defense Giant of Brotherly Country TURKEY as Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik A.Ş. (STM) and Aselsan. Both the Defense Contractors are collaborating with each other for the upgradation of PAKISTAN’s Agosta 90B Submarines at Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works (KS&EW).
According to the leading TURKEY’s Defense Journal, the General Manager of Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik A.Ş. (STM) Murat İKİNCİ has categorically said that the STM and Aselsan has done all the necessary upgradation work of PAKISTAN NAVY’s First Agosta 90B Submarine PNS Hamza and the company is planning for the initial sea trials for the first 90B Agosta Submarine in the early part of 2020. The STM General Manager further said that the company will deliver the PAKISTAN NAVY’s First Upgraded 90B Submarine to PAKISTAN NAVY at the end of 2020 after the sea trials.
PAKISTAN procured the first Agosta 90B Submarine PNS Khalid from France in 1999, while the second and third Agosta 90B Submarines, PNS SAAD and PNS HAMZA delivered in 2002 and 2006, respectively.
The STG GM Murat İKİNCİ further said that the company will also deliver the second upgraded Agosta 90B Submarine PNS/M Khalid to PAKISTAN NAVY in the coming year of 2021. It is worth mentioning that PAKISTAN has a total of 3 Agosta 90B Submarines, but PAKISTAN has not awarded the contract for the upgradation of its 3rd Submarine. However, the STM GM Murat İKİNCİ is quite optimistic that PAKISTAN will soon seal the contract in this regard in coming days.
PAKISTAN has cut the Defense Contract with TURKEY’s Two Defense Giant as Aselsan and Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik A.Ş. (STM) for $350 Million USD back in 2016. Under the contract, the STM and Aselsan was tasked to equip the PAKISTAN’s 90B Submarines with the cutting edge and state of the art Electronic Suites and it is also decided that all the upgradation work would be carried out at Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works (KS&EW), Karachi, PAKISTAN.
According to the details issued by the company, the Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik A.Ş. (STM) and Aselsan would make key advancement and upgradation in PAKISTAN NAVY’s Agosta 90B Submarines basic structure by installing:
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New Electronic Suite
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Electronic Support Measures (ESM)
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New State of the Art Sensors
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Optronic Periscope
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Optronic Mast
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Pulse Doppler Radar
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Integrated Sonar System
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Torpedo Countermeasure Systems
Both the PAKISTAN’s Agosta 90B Submarines are equipped with the cutting-edge and revolutionary Air Independent Propulsion (AIP). According to the contract, the first Submarine was scheduled for delivery in 2020, while the delivery of next one to follow the following year.
PAKISTAN has awarded multiple contracts to different companies of TURKEY worth Billions of Dollars in the past few years. PAKISTAN initially awarded the contract for the purchase of massive 17,000 Tons Fleet Tanker PNS MOAWIN. Furthermore, PAKISTAN has also sealed the contract with TURKEY’s Defense Giant Aselsan for the procurement of 4 state of the art JINNAH Class MILGEM Corvettes.
 . . . PAKDEFENSE){kind=link}