Pakistan's plan to introduce eight Hango-class submarines has finally made significant progress. According to the information released by the Pakistani Navy, the No. 1 submarine of this class, the "Hanguo", has been successfully launched at the Shuangliu base of Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Co., Ltd. in China.
This is certainly good news for Pakistan, Pakistan has always had its own dream of modern submarines, and now, made in China has finally helped Pakistan realize its dream, Pakistan is of course happy.
But for India, it's a bit embarrassing. It can even be said that at the same time as the "Hanguo" was launched, India's face must have been super ugly. As for Pakistan's plan to purchase eight "Hanguo"-class submarines, India is already very "unhappy." Now that the "Hanguo" class submarines have been started and even launched one after another, India is of course even more pale.
The reason why India cares about the appearance of the "Hanguo" class submarine is, first of all, because the strength of the Pakistani Navy has directly disappeared India's sense of superiority. India has always been complacent about having combat forces such as aircraft carriers, but since Pakistan acquired the 054AP frigates, the situation has not been the same. Now that the Pakistani Navy is about to be equipped with new submarines, India's maritime forces, including the new aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, are in a state of unease.
Secondly, the Pakistan Navy has indeed once severely damaged the Indian Navy with submarines. In fact, Pakistan is also very particular about naming the new submarine "Hanguo", and this name has also been used by the older generation of Pakistani army's "Daphne" class legal submarines. The "Hanguo" in the "Daphne" class was a god in the Third Indo-Pakistani War in the 70s of the last century, and successfully sank the frigate "Kukri" of the Indian Navy, which not only set a new post-war record, but also saved face for Pakistan.
The progress of the eight "Hanguo" class submarines is very fast, which is not what India says "progress is very slow". It is expected that in the near future, the Pakistani Navy will be equipped with these new submarines, and it is said that the "Hanguo" class submarines are equipped with AIP systems, and their actual combat capability is very powerful. The Hanguo-class submarines have a displacement of 2,800 tons and can be equipped with torpedoes, anti-ship missiles and other weapons. Some Western views suggest that the "Hanguo" class submarines may have enlarged hulls and are equipped with cruise missile vertical launch systems.
It can be seen that the "Hanguo" class submarines are not only capable of anti-ship, but also capable of attacking ground targets. The point is that Pakistan still has access to technology, which India does not have. Although India has imported "Scorpene" class submarines from France, India, which is so ambitious, has fallen on the threshold of the AIP system and gnawed at the mud. Moreover, India now has only a dozen submarines, and Pakistan is rapidly catching up in terms of submarine strength, and it is not impossible to overwhelm India in the future.