There is a difference between a submarine getting ‘commissioned’ and getting ‘inducted’. Commissioning is like being given birth to, induction is like the naming ceremony.
So it's not a smart question as to why, on April 30, a submarine to be inducted into the Pakistan Navy was ‘birthed’ in the Chinese town of Sanya in the presence of Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari and navy chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf.
Commissioning in China means the Pakistani navy can take the delivery at Sanya and sail a fully operational submarine back home, saving much time and effort. But it also alludes to the favourable bilateral ties.
This came on the heels of the admission by a Chinese military scientist on May 7 that there were Chinese boots on the ground in Pakistan who oversaw the operations of the J-10 fighters against Indian fighter aircraft during Operation Sindoor. The collusion is obvious.
But what is more perturbing is that India’s naval asymmetry against Pakistan is in danger of getting eroded. Courtesy of the Chinese.
PNS Hangor is only the first of the eight advanced conventional diesel-electric submarines China is helping Pakistan with in a $5 billion deal. The next seven will come before 2028 ends. Besides the Hangor, three are under construction in China, while four are being built in the Karachi shipyard. So in the next two years, the Pakistani navy will have eight more Hangor-class submarines that are equipped with air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems, which ensure extended submerged operations and greater stealth.
These submarines will be fitted with the nuclear-capable Babur 3 cruise missile with a 450 km range, enabling a deep strike capability.
With the already operating eight submarines that the Pakistani navy has, which include five Agosta-class and three Cosmos-class midget submarines, in the next two years, the navy will field a formidable 16-submarine fleet.
On the other hand, India fields a total of 16-17 conventional and 2-3 nuclear submarines. The conventional ones include six Kalvari class (based on the French Scorpene), seven Sindhughosh class, four Shishkumar class, while the Arihant class nuclear submarines include the Arihant, Arighat and the recently-inducted Aridhaman.
India’s state-owned Mazagon Dockyards Ltd (MDL) is expected to soon sign an advanced diesel-electric six-submarine deal valued at about $8-10 billion with Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) under Project 75I, with the first delivery likely in 2032 and the remaining five by 2035.
But even then, the asymmetry between the Indian and Pakistani navies is not just about the numbers. One must keep in mind that India has a long coastline of about 11,000km, while the Pakistan coastline runs for about 1,000km.
