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STM Starts Sea Trials of PAKISTAN NAVY’s First Upgraded Agosta 90B Submarine In Arabian Sea:
More Blessings for the Best Great PAKISTANI Nation as the TURKISH Defense Giant STM has started the Sea Trials of PAKISTAN NAVY’s First Upgraded Agosta 90B Submarine in the Arabian Sea.
TURKISH Defense Giant Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik ve Ticaret A.Ş or STM has got the contract after very tight competition with the French Based Direction des Constructions Navales or DCNS.
Earlier on 22th June 2016, PAKISTAN Ministry of Defense Production (MoDP) awarded the $350 Million contract for the Upgradation and Modification of PAKISTAN NAVY Agosta 90B Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) based Attack Submarines.
It is pertinent to mention that the French Based Defense Giant Direction des Constructions Navales or DCNS is the same company who has designed and build the Agosta 90B Attack Submarines for PAKISTAN NAVY.
According to the Agreement the following, the TURKISH Defense Company STM or Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik ve Ticaret A.Ş or STM will upgrade the following key upgradations on PAK NAVY’s Agosta 90B Submarines:
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TURKISH Defense Giant Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik ve Ticaret A.Ş or STM will replace the existing Electronics Sonar Suite of 90B AIP Attack Submarines with the latest and advanced Sonar Suite
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Torpedo Fire Control System
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Command and Control System
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Sonar Integrated Submarine Command Control System (SEDA)
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Installation of SERO 250 Advanced Periscope
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Geographic Information System
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Installation of SERO 250 Advanced Periscope System
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Installation of OMS 200 Optronics Mast Air Bus Defense and Airspace System
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Installation of State of the Art Electronic Warfare Suite
All these upgradations will boost the Offensive and Defensive Capabilities of PAKISTAN NAVY considerably.
Significance of the SERO 250 Advanced Periscope System:
The SERO 250 is an Advanced Periscope System that allows the three Submarines to easily fulfill the complex requirements of Intelligence Gathering, Reconnaissance and Surveillance in the complex Hybrid Warfare Environment.
One of the distinctive features of the SERO 250 Advanced Periscope System is that it enables the Attack Submarines for night vision capability.
It is worth mentioning that PAKISTAN NAVY Agosta 90B Submarine was built before the 2000’s, so it doesn’t have the built-in Night Vision capability. So, the TURKISH Defense Company STM will install the SERO 250 Periscope, which would also allow the Agosta 90B Submarine to carry out Complex Combat Operations in low light conditions or darker hours.
The SERO 250 Advanced Periscope System also allows the user to identify potential targets, to collect Navigational Data and to Monitor Air and Surface Activity. Furthermore, the SERO 250 Advanced Periscope System also offers the Crystal-Clear Video Footage for parallel observation, which can either be used on CMS or stand-alone console.
Significance of OMS 200 Optronics Mast Air Bus Defense and Airspace System:
The OMS 200 Optronics Mast Air Bus Defense and Airspace System is basically a combination of an High Definition TV Day Camera, an Eyesafe laser Range Finder in Lense Objective on a Single line of Sight (LOS) and a Shortwave Infrared Camera (SWIR).
The Elevation Range of the Infrared Cameras installed on the system -15 Degrees to +60 Degrees in total. Additionally, its Laser Range Finder can easily track and detect a potential target up to the range of 400 – 10,000 meters in total.
One of the distinctive features of the OMS 200 Optronics Mast Air Bus Defense and Airspace System is that it is very compact in size and coated with the state of the Art Radar Absorption Stealth Technology.
It means that OMS 200 Optronics Mast Air Bus Defense and Airspace System can easily get the video footage of nearby areas and it cannot be detected by any Radar in hybrid warfare theatre.
Additionally, the Short Wave Infrared Camera (SWIR) of the OMS 200 Optronics Mast Air Bus Defense and Airspace System can easily be integrated with the second Mid-Wave Infrared Camera to improve the night vision capability of the system.
The OMS 200 Optronics Mast Air Bus Defense and Airspace System also comes with the Integrated Universal Antenna Interface, which offers a combination of Cutting-Edge Sensor Technology with GPS / ESW-EW Antenna systems.
Mid-Life Upgrade Work of Agosta 90B AIP Attack Submarines:
All the mid-life upgrade work or MLU of PAKISTAN NAVY’s Agosta 90B Submarines would be performed at State Owned Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works (KS&EW). The Mid-Life Upgrade or MLU Work of PAKISTAN NAVY Agosta 90B Submarines would primarily consists of changing the Combat Management System (CMS), Radar, Sonar, Electronic Intelligence Kit (ELINT) and so on.
All the parts and tools, equipment and material for the Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) would be provided by the TURKISH Defense Giant STM to PAKISTAN.
According to the details of the contract, the first Agosta 90B Submarine would be handed over to PAKISTAN NAVY in the timeframe of 45 Months, while the second and third Agosta 90B Submarine would be delivered with a timeframe of one year respectively.
Now, the Sea Trials of the First Submarine has started in the Arabian Sea. After the successful Sea Trials, the STM will hand over the first upgraded and modified Agosta 90B AIP based Attack Submarine to PAKISTAN NAVY and will begin work on the second Submarine in the country.
It is pertinent to mention that PAKISTAN NAVY has got three Agosta 90B AIP based Attack Submarine in its Arsenal. PAKISTAN NAVY Named the three Agosta 90B Submarines as PNS SAAD, PNS KHALID and PNS HAMZA. PNS KHALID was built in its native country France back in the 1990’s, while the PNS SAAD and PSN HAMZA were built in PAKISTAN in the Early 2000’s.
Armament Options of the PAKISTAN NAVY Agosta 90B AIP Attack Submarines:
As far as the armament options of the Agosta 90B Submarine is concerned, the Agosta 90B would be capable of Arming with 16 numbers of 533 mm lethal Torpedoes and SM39 Anti-Ship Missiles. Furthermore, the Agosta 90B Submarines, after the modification, would also be able to launch Babur 3 Sea Launched Cruise Missile (SLCM), which is best known as the custodian of PAKISTAN’s Second Nuclear Strike Capability.
The former Head of PAKISTAN ARMY Media Wing DG ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor describes the Babur-3 SLCM as “Robust Missile System that is capable to deliver various types of payloads by using the Underwater Controlled Propulsion System.”
“Provocative nuclear strategies and posture being pursued in the neighborhood through induction of nuclear submarines and ship-borne nuclear missiles.” former DG ISPR further added in his statement.
It is worth mentioning that PAKISTAN NAVY is also getting the 8 numbers of state of the Art Diesel Attack Submarine with Air Independent Propulsion from its Iron Brother CHINA. Now, with the induction of 8 New Diesel Attack Submarines and the upgradation of Agosta 90B AIP Attack Submarines will add more punch to the overall offensive capabilities of PAKISTAN NAVY against its arch rival india.
