PNS BADR Corvette Launched at KSEW with a Ceremony Attended by Minister of National Defense AKAR and Pakistan Prime Minister SHARIF
As the 3rd ship according to the PNS BADR construction plan, it is noted that its board number is 281. The board number of the first ship PNS BABUR is 280. Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of National Defense AKAR stated that the second ship of its class, PNS BADR, is planned to be put into service in 2024. Stating that the PNS KHAIBAR, which will be launched in Istanbul this year, will be delivered to the Pakistan Navy in 2024, Minister AKAR said that the fourth ship to be built in Karachi will go into service in 2025. According to the construction plan of the project, the construction activities of the second ship (PN-MILGEM-2) PNS KHAIBAR started on December 30, 2020, and its launch is expected to take place on September 21, 2022, from the Istanbul Shipyard Command and its delivery to the Pakistani Naval Forces on August 11, 2024.
A total of 4 corvettes (PNS BABUR, PNS KHAIBAR, PNS BADR and PNS TARIQ) are built under the Pakistan Navy MILGEM (PN-MILGEM) Project, the contract of which was signed between the Main Contractor ASFAT and the Pakistan Ministry of Defense Production on July 5, 2018, in Islamabad and the construction activities started on March 11, 2019.
The first two (1st and 2nd) corvettes, named BABUR Class in the PN-MILGEM Project, are being built at the Istanbul Shipyard Command, and the other two (3rd and 4th) are built at the Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works (KSEW) in Pakistan. The first corvette of the project, PNS BABUR (280), was launched on August 15, 2021, and is planned to be delivered in August 2023 in Turkey. The construction of PNS TARIQ, the 4th corvette of the project, which is expected to be delivered in Karachi in February 2025, started in June 2021 at KSEW, and the keel-laying ceremony was held on November 5, 2021.
The Albatros NG is MBDA’s new generation Naval Based Air Defense (NBAD) System which uses the CAMM-ER (Extended Range) missile, which will be installed on BABUR Class Corvettes. The Albatros NG NBAD consists of 2 CAMM/CAMM-ER Launcher Modules (GWS-26 VLS) with 6 cells each and 2 Platform Data Link Terminals (PDLT). The CAMM/CAMM-ER Launcher Modules are positioned just behind the Leonardo 76/62mm Super Rapid Gun.
The CAMM-ER missile is basically a version of the CAMM missile with a booster (ejection motor). The CAMM missile is 3.2m long and 166mm in diameter with a weight of 99kg and a range of 25 km, while the CAMM-ER is 4.2m long, 190mm in diameter, weighing 160kg with a maximum range of 45km+, and the prevention altitude is estimated to be 10 km. The missiles have Active RF (radar) guidance and a bidirectional data link, and they do not need target illumination radar (SMART-S Mk 2 3BAR data on the ship will be sufficient). Engagement information regarding the target (position, altitude, speed, etc.) can be transferred to the missile via the data link. As the illumination radar is no longer needed, Type 345 (NATO code MR-90 Front Dome) Illumination Radars, which were previously included in the PN-MILGEM Corvette drawings and which were a part of the HHQ-16 Medium-Range Air Defense Missile System, were removed and two Platform Data Link Terminals (PDLT) are used on the corvettes.
In addition, in BABUR Class Corvettes, a total of 6 Harbah Anti-Ship and Land Attack Cruise Missiles (ASCM/LACM - estimated to reach a range of 450km to 750km) are positioned at 90 degrees to each other, behind the cover on the port and starboard sides (used to reduce the RKA/RCS value of the ship) at the dock) side just behind the main mast. Additionally, the P-282, a new hypersonic missile system with anti-ship and land attack capability, 2 ASELSAN 25mm Stabilized Gun (STOP/MUHAFIZ) Systems (at the port and starboard sides) and the GÖKDENİZ Close-In Weapon System (CIWS, its use has already been decided) will be used.
The Main Propulsion System to be used on PN MILGEM Corvettes with a length of 108.2m, a width of 14.8m and a draft of 4.05m consists of an LM2500 gas turbine and two 4000 Series MTU 20V4000M93L diesel engines, each with 4,300kW/5,766hp
