Pakistan Navy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| ||
| Military manpower | ||
| Military age | 16 years of age | |
| Availability | 39,028,014 (2005) | |
| Males ages | 16-49 | |
| Reaching military age | males: 1,969,055 (2005) | |
| Active troops | 620,000 (Ranked 7th) | |
| Military expenditures | ||
| Dollar figure | $3.848 billion (2004) | |
| Percent of GDP | 4.9% (2004) | |
| Pakistan Armed Forces | ||
| Pakistan Army | ||
| Pakistan Air Force | ||
| Pakistan Navy | ||
| Pakistan Coast Guard | ||
| Personnel | ||
| Chiefs of Army Staff | ||
| Generals | ||
| Military history | ||
| Military history of Pakistan | ||
| Wars of Pakistan | ||
| Battles of Pakistan | ||
| Related topics | ||
| Weapons of mass destruction | ||
| Nishan-E-Haider | ||
| Special Service Group | ||
| Inter-Services Intelligence | ||
Pakistan Navy (Urdu: پاک بحریہ) is the naval wing of the Pakistan military. Though not as significant as their other military divisions, it does play a vital role given the regional rivalry of Pakistan with India. September 8 is the National Navy day of Pakistan.
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[edit] History
[edit] 1947-1956
The birth of the Royal Pakistan Navy came with the creation of Pakistan on 14 August 1947. The Armed Forces Reconstitution Committee (AFRC) divided the Royal Indian Navy between both countries India and Pakistan. The Pakistan Navy secured two sloops, two frigates, four minesweepers, two trawlers, four harbor launches and some 3580 personnel (180 officers and 3400 ratings) and given the high percentage of delta areas on the Pakistan coast the Navy was given a number of Harbor Defense Motor Launches. The Royal Pakistan Navy saw no action during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 as all the fighting was restricted to Kashmir.
[edit] 1956 - 1965
In 1956 the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was proclaimed under the 1956 constitution. The prefix Royal was dropped and the service re-designated as Pakistan Navy short title PN. PN Jack and Pakistan flag replaced the Queen's colour and the white ensign respectively. The order of precedence of the three services changed from Navy, Army, Air force to Army, Navy, Air Force.
In February 1956, the British government announced supplying of several major surface combatants to Pakistan. These Warships, a cruiser and four destroyers were purchased with funds made available under the US Military Assistance Program. The acquisition of a few additional warships that is two destroyers, eight coastal minesweepers and an oiler (between 1956-63) was the direct result of Pakistan's participation in the anti-Communist defence pacts of SEATO and CENTO.
During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 the navy was involved in a conflict for the first time. Apart from carrying out a bombardment of the coastal town of Dwaraka - codenamed Operation Dwarka, the navy's submarine PNS Ghazi was deployed against Indian Navy's western fleet at Bombay (Mumbai) port. [1]
[edit] 1965-1971
The Navy's role changed in Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 when the military was caught in the thick of the battle. With East Pakistan having been surrounded on all three sides by the Indian Army, the Navy was under immense pressure to protect the coast. Despite the isolated incidents including the sinking of an Indian frigate INS Khukri by the submarine PNS Hangor, the Navy was largely overrun. The major threat from the much dreaded PNS Ghazi - the only long range submarine - was nullified when it sank in the Bay of Bengal thus enabling an easy blockade on East Pakistan<ref name = Defencejournal>Maritime Awareness and Pakistan Navy. Defence Notes by Commander (Retd) Muhammad Azam Khan. Retrieved on May 16, 2005.</ref>. The damage inflicted by both Indian Navy and Indian Air Force on Pakistan Navy stood at 6 Gunboats, one submarine, a minesweeper, a Destroyer, 3 patrol crafts belonging to the coast guard, 18 supply and communication vessels, with some more crafts damaged - including friendly fire. 3 merchant navy ships Anwar Baksh, Pasni, Madhumathi<ref>Utilisation of Pakistan merchant ships seized during the 1971 war</ref> and ten smaller vessels were captured. <ref name = Orbat>DAMAGE ASSESMENT - 1971 INDO-PAK NAVAL WAR. B. Harry. Retrieved on May 16, 2005.</ref> The total number of personnel losses came to about 1900 and 1413 servicemen were captured by Indian forces in Dhaka(Official Pakistan losses)<ref name = "losses">Military Losses in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War. Venik. Retrieved on May 30, 2005.
</ref>. In contrast the Indian Navy lost 212 personnel, a frigate (another frigate damaged) and a naval plane Breguet Alizé to the Pakistan Air Force (PAF)<ref name="losses" />. According to one Pakistan scholar, Tariq Ali, Pakistan Navy lost a third of its force in the war.<ref>Tariq Ali (1983). Can Pakistan Survive? The Death of a State. Penguin Books Ltd. ISBN 0-14-022401-7.</ref> The primary reason for this loss has been attributed to the central command's failure in defining a role for the Navy - or the military in general, in East Pakistan. Since then the Navy has sought to improve the structure and fleet by putting special emphasis on sub-surface warfare capability as it allows for the most efficient way to deny the control of Pakistani sea lanes to the adversary.
[edit] 1972-1999
Following the breakup of Pakistan, the Navy sought to diversify its purchases instead of depending solely on the US, which had placed an arms embargo on both India and Pakistan. It sought more vessels from France and China. The Pakistan Navy thus became the first navy in South Asia to acquire land based missile capable long range reconnaissance aircraft.<ref name="Navy">South Asia's Nuclear Security Dilemma: India, Pakistan, and China By Lowell Dittmer, pp 77 </ref> During the 1980s the Pakistan Navy enjoyed un-preceded growth. It doubled its surface fleet from 8 to 16 surface combatants in 1989. In 1982, the Reagan administration approved US$ 3.2 billions military and economic aid to Pakistan. Pakistan acquired eight Brooke and Garcia-class frigates from US Navy on a five year lease in 1988. A depot for repairs, EX-USS HECTOR followed the lease of these ships in April 1989. However after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989 US President George Bush was advised to no longer certify that Pakistan was not involved in the development of nuclear weapons and the Pressler’s Amendment was invoked on 1 October, 1990. The lease of the first Brooke class frigate expired in March 1993, the remaining in early 1994. This seriously impaired the Pakistan Navy, which was composed almost entirely of former US origin ships. Pakistan began to concentrate on self-reliance for its defense production.
[edit] 1999-Present
Image:Naval Ensign of Pakistan.svg The Atlantique Incident was a major international incident on 10 August 1999 where a Pakistan Navy plane (Breguet Atlantic) with 16 on board was shot down in the border area of the Kutch region by Indian Air Force jets. It resulted in escalated tensions between the two neighboring countries.
The Navy has been involved in some peacetime operations, most notably during the tsunami tragedy that struck on December 26, 2004. Pakistan sent vessels to Sri Lanka and the Maldives to help in rescue and relief work.
[edit] Personnel
The Pakistan Navy has some 24,000 personnel. The force includes a small Naval Air Arm and the approximately 2,000 member paramilitary Maritime Security Agency, charged primarily with protecting Pakistan's exclusive economic zone(EEZ). The naval reserve consists of about 5,000 personnel. Included in this is the Naval arm of the Special Services Group, a marine commando unit stationed at Karachi. The SSG(N) as it is known is believed to number around 1,000 in troop strength.
[edit] Naval General Staff
- Admiral Muhammad Afzal Tahir (Chief of Naval Staff)
- Vice Admiral Mohammad Haroon -- Vice Chief of Naval Staff.
- Vice Admiral Sikandar Viqar Naqvi HI(M)-- Commander Karachi.
- Rear Admiral Asaf Humayun — Commander of Pakistan Fleet
- Rear Admiral Mahmood Ahmed Khan — Commander of Logistics
- Rear Admiral Saleem Menai - Commander of Coastal Areas
- ? — Commander of North Navy
- Rear Admiral Shahid Iqbal — Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (Operations)
- ? — Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (Material)
Rear Admiral R U Khan — Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (Supply) Rear Admiral — Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (Projects) Rear Admiral Mohammed Shafi- Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (Training and Personnel)
- ? — Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (Projects-II)
[edit] Organization
The supreme commander of the Navy is the Chief of the Naval Staff. Admiral Afzal Tahir is the current Chief of the Navy. Pakistan Navy recently began inducting women for combat positions apart from the existing administrative posts, becoming one of the few Islamic Republics to do so.
The navy has four commands:
- COMKAR - Naval headquarters and the only major base at Karachi (COMmander KARachi)
- COMPAK - The fleet; (COMmander PAKistan Fleet)
- COMLOG - The logistics; (COMmander LOGistics)
- COMCOAST - The special command of SSG(N), Marine and Coastal stations (COMmader COAST) at Karachi
Other naval bases are Ormara, Pasni, Gwadar and Jiwani.
- COMNOR - Naval installations in the north of Pakistan;
(COMmander NORth)
[edit] Training Instituions
Pakistan Navy has an academy of its own called the Pakistan Naval Academy (also known as PNS RAHBAR), it is the home of initial training of officers of Pakistan Navy. The academy also has provided basic training to the officers of Allied Navies. The Chief of Naval Staff of Qatar Emiri Navy and many high ranking officers of Royal Saudi Navy as well as other navies in the Gulf were graduates of the PNA. The academy is a full fledged training institution catering to the needs to Pakistani junior Naval officers. The Navy also has its own navy war college called the Pakistan Navy War College [2] specilizing in imparting Naval Warfare techniques to officers of the Pakistan marine forces.
Other worthwhile training institutions are:
PNS BAHADUR: conducts specialist courses
PNS HIMALAYA: for basic training of sailors
PNS KARSAZ: for technical training of sailors
PNS JAUHAR: for technical training of officers PNS Jauhar has been absorbed by the National University of Sciences and Technology as Pakistan Navy Engineering College, where officers and civilian students are offered degrees in Electrical, Mechanical and Electronics Engineering.
[edit] The fleet
Classification of ships with respect to their classes <ref name="Official Website">Official website </ref><ref name="global">Globalsecurity.org </ref>
- 6 Ex-UK Class Type 21 Frigates
- 3 French Eridan Class Mine Hunter vessels
- 3 Jalalat Class Missile Boats
- 4 Sabqat Class (Huangfeng Class) Fast Attack Crafts
- 2 Shanghai II Class Attack Patrol Gunboats
- 1 Larkana Class Patrol Boat
- 2 MRTP 15 Fast Attack Patrol Boats
- 1 Fuqing Class AOR
- 1 Poolster Class AOR
- 2 Coastal Tankers
- 4 Griffon Ambhibious Assault Ships
- 1 Hydrographic Survey Vessel, SV Behr Paima
- 1 Leander Class Frigates Training vessel
[edit] Submarines
A total of 5 main submarines plus 3 midget submarines, MG110 are in the Naval inventory<ref name="global"/>. These include: Image:PNS Ghazi 134 DN-SC-92-03633.JPEG
- 3 Agosta-90B (PNS/M Khalid, PNS/M Saad & PNS/M Hamza)
- 2 Agosta-70 (PNS/M Hasmat and PNS/M Hurmat)
- 1 Daphne class (PNS/Hangor, kept for display)
All of the Pakistani SSKs have been equipped with AshMs which can be fired while submerged. The 3 Khalid class boats are capable of firing Exocet AshM , while the older Agostas and Daphnes have been equipped with US Harpoon AshMs. PNS/M Hamza (third Agosta-90B) is equipped with the MESMA Air Independnat Propulsion system, PNS/M Khalid and PNS/M Saad will be upgraded with the same MESMA AIP system in the near future. The Pakistan Navy also plans to integrate the Boeing Harpoon Block II on to its Agosta-90Bs; and currently the Agosta-90Bs are capable of firing Blackshark torpedos.
In mid-2006 the Pakistan Navy announced its requirement of three to six new SSK attack submarines to replace the four Daphne and two Agosta-70 submarines. French shipbuilder DCN announced that it will offer its latest export design - the Marlin SSK - which is based off the Scorpene SSK, but also uses certain technologies from the Barracudda nuclear attack submarine. The German firm HDW will offer its U-214 SSK design. The new SSK deal will be similar to the Agosta-90B deal in which Pakistan will locally produce a portion of the Pakistan Navy's order.
Pakistan is also seeking to enhance its strategic strike capability by developing a submarine-launch variant of the Babur cruise missile. The Babur cruise missile has a range of 500km and is capable of using both coventional and nuclear warheads. Future developments of Babur include capability of being launched from submarines, surface vessels (like frigates) and aircraft, as well as enhancing range to 1000km.
[edit] Destroyers
The Pakistan Navy has no modern destroyers, but does have an option to buy the American Spruance-class destroyer Fletcher.
[edit] Frigates
The Navy's eight frigates include six ex-British Amazon class (PNS Babur) and two Leander-class ships: PNS Zulfiquar and PNS Shamsher. These are expected to retire between 2010 and 2020.
In 2005 Pakistan ordered four Chinese F-22P attack frigates; the first is expected to be commissioned in 2009[3]. Four used S-Class frigates were recently bought from Greece, they will be commissioned into the Navy by the end of 2007. The S-Class boasts a displacement of 3800 tons and surpasses the PN's Type-21 in regards to performance, weapons and systems. According the Jane's IDEAS2004 interview with former Pakistan Navy Chief ex-Admiral Kariumullah another four or so new frigates will be acquired; either a larger and improved F-22P or entirely new model like the Type-054. Options for this new class also include the German MEKO A-200 and MEKO-D (Delta) series.
A total of at least 12 frigates will be bought and/or procured by the end of the Navy's modernization program. The frigate fleet may be augmented by a fleet of at least 4 large multi-role corvettes; thus expanding the navy's roles, range and potency.
[edit] Corvettes & Missile Boats
In a recent interview with the Pakistan Naval Chief of Staff, Admiral Tahir, the Pakistan Navy is considering the purchase of at least four new corvettes; expected displacement range is 1,500 tons to 2000+ tons. According to the Admiral these would also be built in Pakistan alongside the F-22P frigate and new SSK attack submarine in the Karachi Shipyard. The Pakistan Navy may be considering the German MEKO A-100 or the Turkish MILGEM Class corvettes.
In November 2006 the Pakistan Navy ordered two MRTP-33 missile boats from Turkey - the first MRTP-33 will be delivered in 2008. The Pakistan Navy has an overall requirement of eight MRTP-33 missile boats.
[edit] Future Naval Fleet
- 4 Large Multirole Guided Missile Frigates (e.g, MEKO D, Type 054)
- 4 S-Class Multirole Guided Missile Frigates
- 4 F-22P Class Multirole Guided Missile Light Frigates
- 4 Corvettes with displacement of 1500~2000 tons (e.g, MEKO A-100, MILGEM)
- 3~6 New Generation SSK attack submarines (e.g, Marlin, U-214)
- 3 Agosta-90B SSK attack submarines w/MESMA AIP
- 8 MRTP-33 Guided Missile Patrol Boats
[edit] Aviation
The Pakistan Navy Aviation wing is quite small compared to the Pakistan Army Aviation, but despite its size it has a potent fleet which is continuously advancing in offensive and defensive warfare. Currently the PN Aviation Force consists of:
| | 3 | Westland Lynx Anti-Ship/Anti-Submarine/Transport Helicopters | ||
| | 6 | Westland Sea King Mk45 Transport Helicopters | ||
| | 8 | Aerospatiale SA-319B Alouette III Transport/Anti-Ship Helicopters | ||
| | 4 | Lockheed P-3C Orion Maritime Surveillance/Anti-Submarine Warfare Aircraft (6 to be delivered) | ||
| | 5 | Fokker F27-200 Maritime Surveillance Aircraft | ||
| | 2-3 | Breguet Atlantique I Maritime Surveillance/Anti-Submarine Warfare Aircraft. | ||
| | 12 | + | Mirage V Anti-Ship Fighter Aircraft (Operated by the Pakistan Air Force) |
Recently the Pakistan Navy ordered 6 Chinese Z-9EC Anti-Ship/Anti-Submarine/Transport Helicopters; 8 P-3C Orion Surveillance/Anti-Submarine Warfare Aircraft were ordered (two delivered) to replace the ageing Fokker and Atlantique aircraft.
With the Westland Sea King Mk45 and Aerospatiale SA-319B Alouette III nearing the end of their airframe lives the PN is likely to procure a new helicopter. An adequate replacement for the Westland Sea King Mk45 would be the Eurocopter NH-90NFH; a good replacement for the Aerospatiale Alouette III would be the Eurocopter EC-130B4 naval helicopter. The Westland Lynx helicopters will likely be replaced by the Chinese Z-9EC.
[edit] Others
The Pakistan Navy plans to procure more AOR support ships as well as minehunters from various sources such as The Netherlands and Turkey. The Sabqat (Huangfeng) and Shanghai II Class patrol boats will likely be replaced within this decade by Turkish MRTP-33 missile boats. Additional Jalalat II Fast Attack Missile and MRTP 15 Fast Attack Patrol boats will be procured by the Pakistan Navy, Maritime Security Agency and Coast Guard.
[edit] Conclusion
It also has 25 naval aircraft at its immediate disposal. The Dassault Mirage 5 is one of the premier fighters in the naval kitty equipped with Exocet AshM in anti-surface warfare role. The Mirages are dedicated for Naval support but are part of and flown by PAF personnel. Other Navy planes are Fokker F27, Lockheed P-3 Orion and Breguet Atlantique. The US has provided additional Orions which in total will number 10. All of the PN Orions are equipped with Harpoon AshMs and also have the ability to carry Chinese AshM C-802s. One Atlantique was lost in the Atlantique Incident.
Pakistan has always relied on stealth and prides itself on its submarines. However the financial crunch and the Pressler Amendment has hindered its ability to match the growing military capability of its neighbour, India. Since the late 1990s and from 2000, Pakistan stepped up its efforts to modernize its navy's surface, submerged, and aerial fleet, as well as weapons inventory of various missiles, torpedoes, etc.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
<references/>
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| | Image:Flag of Pakistan.svg |
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| Pakistan Army | Image:Naval Jack of Pakistan.svg Pakistan Navy | Image:Pakistani Air Force Ensign.svg Pakistan Air Force | |


