"Kirin" was launched. On April 26, the launching ceremony of submarines ordered by Pakistan from the mainland was held in Wuhan.
The Kirin class is the mainland's designation for the submarine, and after it was delivered to Pakistan, the submarine was named Hanguo. Together with the seven other submarines ordered from the mainland, these submarines will also be the Hango-class of the future Pakistani Navy.
The Pakistani Navy has ordered submarines for many years, and the preferred target is Western products, so why did this round of submarines choose to be made in China? What are the characteristics of the submarines customized for Pakistan in terms of performance? What is the gap between the mainland's submarine exports and the world's major submarine exporters?
4 ships are built domestically and 4 ships are built in Pakistan
The launching ceremony of the first ship was attended by the chief of staff of the Pakistani Navy in Wuhan. The submarine was named Hango, which was decided in 2017. The name "Hanguo" has had the honor of victory in Pakistan.
During the war between Pakistan and India in the 70s of the last century, the submarine Hanguo, which was in service with the Pakistani Navy at that time, destroyed a frigate of the Indian Navy. According to research, this is the first time since World War II that a submarine has sunk a ship.
The Hanguo was in service until it was decommissioned in 2006, and in order to commemorate and inherit, the Pakistani side named the newly ordered submarine Hanguo.
According to the previous agreement, four of the eight Hanguo-class submarines will be manufactured on the mainland by the shipbuilding industry to which it belongs. The other four were built in Karachi, Pakistan, and construction began in 2022. The first submarine built in Karachi, which had previously been named Tasnim.
During the intensive manufacturing of the Shipbuilding Industry Group, successive chiefs of staff of the Pakistani Navy visited Wuhan to inspect the construction situation.
Pakistani naval officials who attended the launching of the submarine in Wuhan said that this marks a new dimension of China-Pakistan friendship.
Over the years, the mainland has exported a wide range of weapons to Pakistan, but these eight submarines are undoubtedly the largest military purchase order between China and Pakistan in recent years.
More critically, the submarines that Pakistan has been in service for many years have all been purchased from the West. For example, the old Hanguo submarine, which has been decommissioned, is the French Daphne-class submarine.
Even after the decommissioning of the previous generation of submarines, the first thing that the Pakistani side considered when ordering was Western products. What are the reasons behind Pakistan's eventual change of plans?
The first thing that the Pakistani side is considering is Franco-German products
Because of its years of confrontation with India, Pakistan has essentially been shrouded in the clouds of war. Because of this, the Pakistani military is extremely concerned about the procurement and replacement of weapons.
Previously, India's purchase and replacement of newer submarines also prompted Pakistan to start updating its own products.
As early as 2006, the Pakistani Navy planned to order three submarines, with a total value of about $1.3 billion.
In the spring of that year, the Pakistani side began to contact European manufacturers, mainly considering French and German products. When the Scorpion class competed with the 214 type, the Spanish S-80 also participated in the bidding.
However, the bidding thunder was very loud, and in the end, the result of "falling rain" was not seen for a long time. In the years since, there have been many discussions about whose products Pakistan will procure. There is speculation that the French scorpion wins, while others speculate that it is the German product.
There is also speculation that the products of France and Germany have won, but Pakistan has a bad choice and does not know who will be chosen in the end.
Just when the outside world thought that the ultimate winner would definitely be between France and Germany, things took a 180-degree turn since 2010.
The 5 billion order went to China
Before 2015, that is, before the mainland and Pakistan formally signed an agreement, foreign media speculated that the Pakistani Navy also had an intention to order China's Yuan-class and Song-class submarines.
In 2013, an American media even broke the news that Pakistan and China had signed an agreement to order six Chinese-made Yuan-class submarines.
Since then, the news that Pakistan is going to purchase Chinese submarines has become a hot topic of discussion.
However, judging from the subsequent situation, the purchase agreement between the mainland and Pakistan was actually signed in July 2015, and the number of orders was not 6 but 8 ships.
This order is not only the largest arms sale between China and Pakistan, but also the largest single contract in the mainland's history of foreign arms sales. According to a Pakistani official quoted by the British media, the total value of the contract is around $5 billion.
What model of submarine was sold to the Pakistani side
According to previously disclosed information, the Pakistani side should order the mainland S-20P submarine, which is an improvement on the basis of the S-20.
The mainland's active conventional submarines are the 035 and 039 series, and usually the weapons in service will not be sold to the outside world, so in the field of submarines, the mainland also has models exported to foreign countries, namely S-20 and S-26T.
And according to open information, the S-20P model is an improvement on the basis of the 039B series. As a conventionally powered submarine, it is 66 meters long, 8 meters wide and 8.2 meters high.
The submarine has an underwater displacement of 2,300 tons, a surface of 1,850 tons, an underwater speed of between 16 and 18 knots, and a maximum mileage of more than 8,000 nautical miles.
In terms of armament, the boat is equipped with a total of six launch tubes with a caliber of 533 mm, which can be equipped to launch various types of torpedoes and anti-ship missiles. In addition, surface minelaying is possible.
In addition, the submarine of this model uses an advanced integrated sonar system, one of which is the use of towed sonar.
The submarine is also equipped with a more advanced AIP propulsion system, but there are also reports that the original model did not have this system, and after the signing of the agreement with the Pakistani side, the AIP system was additional. According to public information, the AIP propulsion system does not rely on air.
The rights and wrongs surrounding the export of submarines
4 submarines built in Karachi, which also involved the transfer of technology. Some people also analyzed that although technology transfer is in line with the interests of both China and Pakistan, the cost of real high-tech such as AIP is very high in all aspects, whether it is learning or upgrading production equipment, so the high-tech system is still produced on the mainland.
In addition, with the launching of submarines one after another, the mainland will also set up a submarine training center in Pakistan so that the Pakistani side can master the new equipment as quickly as possible, which is also a common practice in the field of arms exports.
What is ironic is that the mainland exports submarines to foreign countries and sends training personnel to ordering countries, which in turn gives the West an excuse to attack us.
Accusations from the West, such as "countries that have ordered Chinese weapons to give up their military bases" and "officers who receive weapons training must learn Chinese," are all bandit logic.
It is normal for other countries to buy weapons and producing countries to send maintenance and training personnel. Like the United States, which is the largest exporter of weapons, its military training and maintenance personnel can be said to be all over the world.
Is it true that they are the only ones who go to military bases in other countries for training, and that the mainland is "receiving" the training personnel? As for the language of weapons training and use, the Western media's arguments make people laugh and cry even more.
The facilities and technical instruction manuals used by the United States to export weapons are in English, and the major arms exporting countries such as Russia and France are in Russian and French, respectively. When it comes to the export of weapons in China, it becomes politically incorrect to use Chinese for training?
Behind this bandit logic, it precisely shows that the hegemonic thinking of the West has been deeply rooted in its thinking for many years.
In the eyes of some Westerners, it is natural for other countries to buy their weapons, and it is even more natural to learn their language. The continent has shattered this illusion of theirs, so as soon as we export weapons, it is a "threat".
But the reality is that in the field of submarines alone, the major export countries have been dominated by France and Germany all year round.
10 ships exported in 6 years
The submarine export market, France's export scale is large. In the export year from 2019 to 2026, France has a total of 10 submarine orders, all of which are conventionally powered submarines, the Scorpene-class that Pakistan previously wanted to buy.
According to the data, 5 of the 10 submarines have been finalized and produced by 2022, and the other 5 are ordered from 2023 to 2026.
The total value of the 10 submarines was nearly $6.8 billion, and the fraud of a single submarine exceeded $670 million. In recent years, France has surpassed Russia to become the second largest country in terms of arms exports. In terms of submarine exports, it also surpassed its rival Germany and jumped to the top of the list in this field.
However, in terms of volume, also in the export year from 2019 to 2026, Germany has received orders for 17 submarines, with the main export models 209 and 214.
Although there are a lot of them, due to the small tonnage of this type of submarine, they are much lower in value than in France.
For example, the 6 orders that have been officially finalized before 2022 have a total value of only $2.04 billion. The total value of the remaining 11 orders is only 4.233 billion US dollars.
Although slightly inferior to France, Germany's marketing efforts in the global market have not been weak in recent years. For example, India has to purchase six conventionally powered submarines in recent years, and Germany has participated in the bidding.
In Southeast Asia, Germany is also in frequent contact with Indonesia and other countries. When the German defense minister visited Indonesia last year, the main topic of discussion was the submarine deal.
France and Germany have been deeply involved in the submarine export market for many years, not only because they have the technology, but also because the products have been used by countries for many years, and the market response is also good.
As far as the mainland is concerned, winning market reputation and gradually increasing its market share is precisely what it should do in the future.
As for the accusations made by the Western media, only by getting them accustomed to the mainland's presence in this market can they gradually break down the prejudice in their hearts.
Returning to the issue of exporting submarines to Pakistan, Pakistan, as the most important country in the Belt and Road Initiative, has been promoting the whole country in recent years.
And behind this strategic project, there needs to be a strong military force to escort it. Arms purchases are also trade, and only when this trade remains stable can there be no problems with trade and development in other areas.
epilogue
The construction of submarines is currently progressing in an orderly manner, and in the future, they will be launched one after another and the Pakistani side will be familiar with the equipment through training, which constitutes the entire process of arms export.
For many years, the West has mastered this process and has a virtual monopoly on arms purchases and trade at multiple levels. What they can do, we can also do when we have the ability and level.
Especially at the level of marketing and negotiation, although weapons are different from other commodities, a big reason why the arms trade business in the West has flourished over the years is that they do not regard weapons as more special commodities.
In this regard, there is also a certain reference significance for the mainland's arms exports in the future.
Resources:
"Pakistan's first submarine ordered from China, HMS Hanguo, launched," Observer.com, April 27, 2024
"China Sells 8 Submarines to Pakistan for a Total Price of 5 Billion US Dollars", Huanqiu.com, July 24, 2015
"How did China's submarine defeat Europe's strong rival and win Pakistan's order?" The Paper, October 14, 2016
"France and Germany occupy an important market for submarine exports," China National Defense News, September 25, 2023
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