The Pakistan Navy sank a former Royal Navy Type 21 frigate during recent anti-ship missile testing evolutions in the North Arabian Sea.
The navy announced the exercise on April 25, sharing video footage of the drill, which used ex-HMS Avenger as a target.
The frigate spent over 40 years in service, first with the Royal Navy, and later as Pakistani frigate PNS Tippu Sultan. Pakistan still has a number of Type 21 frigates in service.
Navy and government officials did not reveal much info about the exercise, stating only that it included missile-firings from both ships and aircraft.
Pakistan’s Chief of the Naval Staff, Adm Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, witnessed live weapon firing, commenting that the Pakistan Navy is “always ready to thwart any aggression against Pakistan’s maritime frontiers.”
Pakistan is a frequent user of surplus UK military assets. More recently, the country acquired Sea King helicopters which entered Royal Navy service in the 1960s and were decommissioned in 2016.
