【Foreign Media: Pakistan’s First Chinese-built Hangor-class Submarine Arrives in Karachi】

According to Defence Security Asia, a regional defense and security website, on June 11, 2026, the Pakistan Navy’s first Chinese-built Hangor-class (known as the Qilin-class in China) submarine, PNS Hangor, arrived in Karachi. This marks a transformative upgrade in Islamabad’s undersea warfare posture in the Arabian Sea and northern Indian Ocean.

PNS Hangor entered Pakistani territorial waters escorted by Pakistan Navy’s Z-9 helicopters, surface combatants, and fast attack craft. This move was deliberately strategic, signaling that the submarine has now been integrated into Pakistan’s evolving anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) maritime system.

The submarine was formally commissioned on April 30 in Sanya, Hainan Province, China, with attendance from Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf—underscoring the project’s political and military significance. President Zardari described the commissioning as a “historic milestone” in the modernization of Pakistan’s maritime defense and publicly thanked China for its strategic cooperation in enhancing Pakistan’s naval deterrence capabilities.

This commissioning comes at a time when naval competition in the Indian Ocean region is intensifying. Pakistan, India, and China are increasingly reorganizing their force deployments around submarine warfare, sea denial operations, and long-range precision strike capabilities.

Differing from symbolic procurements intended mainly for national prestige, the Hangor-class program directly reshapes the regional undersea balance of power—extending Pakistan Navy’s stealth endurance, underwater persistence, and flexibility in conducting long-range strikes against both surface and land targets.

The Hangor-class is an export variant of China’s Type 039A/B Yuan-class conventional attack submarines, equipped with Stirling-cycle air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems designed to maximize underwater endurance while significantly reducing acoustic signatures during covert operations.

Estimated to cost between $4 billion and $5 billion, the Hangor-class procurement represents the largest defense contract in Pakistan Navy’s history, demonstrating that despite widespread fiscal and economic constraints, Islamabad continues to prioritize undersea deterrence.

The eight-ship program reflects an unprecedented level of naval industrial cooperation between China and Pakistan, combining Chinese construction expertise with long-term technology transfer arrangements at Karachi Shipbuilding & Engineering Yard (KSEY). It also illustrates Beijing’s growing willingness to export advanced undersea warfare technologies to strategic allies along China’s maritime routes in the Indian Ocean.

The naming carries clear historical symbolism: the original PNS Hangor famously sank the Indian Navy’s INS Khukri during the 1971 war—an iconic achievement in Pakistan Navy’s wartime legacy. Thus, the arrival of PNS Hangor is not merely fleet expansion; it signifies the operationalization of a more survivable, strategically flexible undersea deterrent force capable of fundamentally reshaping regional naval calculations.

Expanding Strategic Depth through Sino-Pakistani Underwater Partnership

Pakistan’s Hangor-class program reflects the accelerated militarization of the China-Pakistan strategic partnership, with collaboration expanding beyond traditional land-based warfare into increasingly complex maritime and undersea domains.

Under a 2015 agreement, four submarines are being built in China, while the remaining four will be assembled in Karachi through extensive technology transfer arrangements. This industrial structure enables Pakistan to gradually absorb submarine construction expertise, while reducing long-term dependence on vulnerable external maintenance and logistical channels during regional conflict escalation.

AIP Technology Transforms Pakistan’s Underwater Warfare Posture

The Hangor-class submarines bring a major leap in operational capability for the Pakistan Navy by integrating Stirling-cycle AIP technology, which dramatically extends underwater endurance. Unlike conventional submarines requiring frequent surfacing for battery recharging, AIP-equipped vessels can remain submerged for weeks, drastically reducing vulnerability to detection by maritime patrol aircraft, satellites, and anti-submarine warfare assets. This enhanced stealth significantly increases the difficulty of enemy anti-submarine tracking, as the intermittent exposure windows traditionally used to locate conventional submarines are greatly compressed under AIP operation cycles.

Reports indicate this class boasts over 65 days of self-sustained operation and a combat radius approaching 8,500 nautical miles—enabling prolonged deployments in strategically critical chokepoints and sea lanes.

While Pakistan’s previous Agosta 90B submarines were equipped with France’s MESMA AIP system, the Hangor-class offers significant improvements in stealth, automation, and sensor integration compared to earlier underwater platforms.

The Hangor-class design also features a hydrodynamically optimized teardrop-shaped double-hull configuration, minimizing acoustic signatures during underwater maneuvering and sustained cruising. With a diving depth of approximately 300 meters, it further enhances survivability against enemy anti-submarine warfare efforts, while increasing tactical flexibility in surveillance or strike missions.

These characteristics collectively enhance the Pakistan Navy’s ability to conduct sea denial operations against superior surface fleets in the Arabian Sea and northern Indian Ocean. The reduced acoustic signature is particularly crucial given India Navy’s growing reliance on airborne surveillance systems, maritime patrol aircraft, and integrated underwater detection networks. Therefore, PNS Hangor strengthens Pakistan’s capacity to maintain persistent undersea deterrence patrols even in high-intensity conflict scenarios within contested maritime zones.

Disclaimer: All equipment data cited above sourced from reports by Defence Security Asia.

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Original article: toutiao.com/article/1867756688302155/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.