Delegates of the two countries at the launching ceremony of the first Hangor submarine for Pakistan. Photo: Pakistan Navy
The initial delivery time was expected to be 4 Chinese-built submarines before 2023. However, because the German side refused to approve the export license for the MTU396 diesel engine that this submarine was designed to use, so it may have affected the handover schedule. Neither Germany nor Pakistan have confirmed whether export clearance for this product has been approved or denied. In addition, the Pakistani side did not reveal whether it accepted the proposal to replace the Hangor submarine with a Chinese-made CHD620 engine. However, Defense News quoted Pakistan Navy Commander Naveed Ashraf as saying he “expressed satisfaction with the progress of the project”.
The Hangor-class submarine is a derivative of China’s Yuan-class Type 039A. This is China’s first submarine equipped with external air-independent propulsion (AIP) technology. The ship is 77m long, 8.4m wide and displaces 3,600 tons.
There is currently not much information about other subsystems on the new Hangor-class submarine, because the Pakistan Navy has not provided any details. However, this submarine is expected to be able to deploy Chinese weapons and domestic Pakistani weapons. When put into service with the Pakistan Navy, they will replace the outdated French-made Agosta 90B submarine fleet.
* Croatia received the first batch of Rafale fighters
Theo Military Leakthe Croatian Air Force has received the first 6 Rafale fighters in a 12-plane contract from France with a total value of 1.2 billion USD that the two sides signed at the end of 2021. The remaining batch will be delivered next year.
The Rafale fighter squadron will replace the Soviet MiG-21BiS jets currently in service with the Croatian air force.
Rafale fighter of the Croatian Air Force. Photo: FlightGlobal
Croatia previously planned to buy used F-16 fighters from the Israeli Air Force, which benefit from many Israeli upgrades and have lower operating costs and are easier to maintain than French aircraft. The deal was not reached due to US opposition, as Washington wanted to find its own way to market the F-16.
The Croatian Air Force held a welcoming ceremony for the first Rafale fighters. Source: EdoStuff Aviation
The Rafale fighter has a length of 15.27m, a wingspan of 10.8m, a height of 5.34m, can reach a flight speed of 2,250km/h, a range of 1,800km, and a flight ceiling of 18,000m. Aircraft often carry mixed weapons of both air combat and ground attack in each mission, including air-to-air missiles (AIM-9, AIM-132, AIM-120, Magic II, MBDA Meteor), missiles air-to-ground missiles (MBDA Apache, SCALP EG, AASM, AM 39 Exocet), anti-radar missiles, air-to-ship missiles, guided bombs…
MINH ANH(synthetic)
