Pakistan Navy is set to achieve another milestone in its distinguished history as indigenously constructed Agosta 90B Submarine Hamza - third in series is being inducted in its fleet on Friday. Chief staff officer commander Pakistan fleet Commodore Tehseenullah Khan on Thursday told a TV channel the Agosta submarines was originally designed by DCN (now DCNS) of France.
The Agosta 90B Hamza is an improved version featuring higher performance and a new combat system. Three Agosta 90Bs were ordered by the Pakistan Navy in September 1994 with a pledge of technology transfer. The first, Khalid (S137), was built at DCN's Cherbourg yard (France) and was commissioned in 1999. The second, Saad, assembled at Karachi Naval Dockyard, was launched in August 2002 and was commissioned in December 2003. The construction of third, Hamza started in 2006, will be commissioned on September 26, he said.
Around 1,000 parts of submarine have been produced by local vendors. Pakistan is among the 13 countries of the world involve in the constriction of submarine. Some countries have already shelved the programme due to difficulties. Pakistan is among the first who started submarine service in 1964. Agosta was inducted in 1994. Pak Navy also refitted the submarine in 1974, he added.
Meanwhile Director General submarine production Commodore Ali Hassan speaking on the occasion said 300 experts of Pak Navy got training in France. On return they trained 600 persons. Now Pakistan has all required expertise to construct submarine. An exclusive submarine construction department is available in Dockyard Karachi.
The new submarine features a higher level of automation. Other improvements include a new battery for increased range, a deeper diving capability of 350m resulting from the use of new materials including HLES 80 steel, and a reduced acoustic signature through the installation of new suspension and isolation systems.
The third submarine has been fitted with the MESMA air-independent propulsion system allows the submarine to remain submerged three times longer. While a diesel-electrical submarine has to surface to periscope depth to recharge the batteries using the diesel engine, leading to increased risk of detection. The Agosta 90B Hamza submarine is fitted with four bow 533mm torpedo tubes and has the capacity to carry a mixed load of up to 16 torpedoes and missiles.
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