The Pakistan Navy commissioned its second China-built Type 054A/P frigate Taimur in a ceremony at the Hudong Zhonghua (HZ) shipyard, China, on June 23.
PNS Taimur is the second of four Type 054 A/P ships China is building for Pakistan, and was launched in January 2021.
The first 054 A/P frigate PNS Tughril was commissioned in January 2022, while another two frigates of same class are presently under construction in China. The third and fourth ships were launched in August and December 2021.
It should be noted that China is behind schedule on the delivery of the ships, all four ships in the class were initially set to be delivered by the end of 2021. Pakistan placed the order for the first two ships in 2017, with a contract for the second two following in 2018.
As a multi-mission platform capable of conducting anti-ship, anti-air and anti-submarine warfare, the Type 054A/P displaces 4,200 tons and has a range of up to 4,000 nautical miles. The four frigates being built for Pakistan will feature a 32-cell vertical launch system (VLS) that is expected to be capable of launching LY-80 (HQ-16) medium-range surface-to-air missiles developed by Pakistan and inducted in 2017.
The frigates will also feature torpedo, and decoy launchers, in addition to Russian AK-630 close in weapon systems and 76-mm main gun from China.
In addition to the Type 054A/P frigates, Pakistan is also buying four corvettes from Turkey and two offshore patrol vessels from Dutch shipbuilder Damen.
