First steel cutting held for Pakistan’s second batch of two Type 054A/P frigates from China

Steel cutting ceremony attended by Pakistan Navy officers and officials from CSSC and the People's Liberation Army. Photo c/o Radio Pakistan.

The Pakistan Navy (PN) confirmed in a report that the first steel cutting ceremony for two (2) Type 054A/P multirole frigates was held recently in Hudong Zhonghua Shipyard in China. These ships would be the third and fourth ships of the class, as two other ships held their steel cutting ceremonies last year.

The "P" indicate the design being specific to Pakistan's specifications.

Pakistan ordered four (4) Type 054AP frigates from China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) under a major arms deal, and will be built based on the Type 054A frigate operated by the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).

This would be the first export of the Type 054A design, which was also offered by China to several other countries in the past including to Thailand.

Once delivered starting in 2021, these frigates would become the most capable surface assets of the the PN, which is modernizing its fleet as it tries to maintain parity against its neighbour and competitor India.

The standard Type 054A frigate in service with the PLAN is armed with a PJ26 76mm naval gun, two Type 730 7-barrel 30mm CIWS, a 32-cell vertical launching system (VLS) carrying a mix of either the HQ-16 medium range air defense missiles and Yu-8 anti-submarine rockets, two quadruple launchers for the C-803 anti-ship or land attack cruise missiles, two triple Yu-7 anti-submarine torpedo launchers, two Type 97 240mm anti-submarine rocket launchers, and two Type 726-4 18-tube decoy rocket launchers.

The Type 054A's sensor suite includes the Type 382 3D and Type 344 radar systems, Type 345 fire control radars, MGK-335 medium frequency active/passive hull mounted sonar, an H/SJG-206 towed array sonar, and HZ-100 ECM & ELINT system.

The Pakistan version may have changes in the weapon and sensors system, which includes the use of the SRC2410C phased array radar instead of the Type 382 3D air search radar, as well as a different anti-ship missile developed in Pakistan.
It is also built with a hangar and helicopter landing deck for a medium-sized naval helicopter. 


[1] Navy Recognition
[2] Quwa Defence News & Analysis Group