On June 14, the Global Times quoted india's THEWEEK website as saying that Pakistan's Ministry of Defense recently decided to "abandon" the originally selected Chinese "Hongqi" -16 air defense missile in the latest corvette project, and instead equipped with the "Albatross NG" shipborne air defense missile system developed in Europe.
Previously, Turkey and Pakistan signed a contract with Pakistan to build four improved MILGEM frigates modeled after the MILGEM corvette, to be built by the Turkish shipyard, with a contract value of about $1.5 billion.
Previously, the "Red Flag" -16 anti-aircraft missile, which was very vocal on the Internet, was not taken seriously by the Pakistan Navy, and the European Missile Group's (MBDA) "Albatross NG" ship-to-air missile system was equipped on 4 improved MILGEM frigates.
The "Hongqi"-16, foreign trade model "Falcon" -80N ship-to-air missile system, is the standard shipboard air defense missile on the Chinese Navy's Type 054A frigate, and is also used in the Improved Type 051B destroyer and the improved Modern-class Type 956E destroyer of the Chinese Navy.
The projectile is 5.2 meters long, has a diameter of 0.34 meters, a launch weight of 650 kg, a maximum flight speed of Mach 3.5-4, a maximum range of 42 kilometers, and is capable of intercepting targets at an altitude of 15-18,000 meters; among them, the improved "Red Flag" -16B has a maximum range of 70 kilometers.
For the Pakistan Navy, which lacks regional air defense capabilities, the "Hongqi"-16 is a cost-effective ship-based air defense missile system, and the 4 054AP frigates purchased by the Pakistan Navy use a 32-unit shipboard vertical launcher, and the supporting anti-aircraft missile is the "Hongqi"-16, which will undoubtedly improve the regional air defense capabilities of the entire Pakistan Navy.
"Hongqi" -16 missile, using modular design, has good loading adaptability, multiple 8-piece chocolate-shaped launchers, has a full range of rapid interception multi-target capabilities, can intercept supersonic and subsonic anti-ship missiles, and attack all kinds of aircraft, helicopters, drones and other aircraft in the air.
There are tweets on the Internet that from the perspective of simplifying logistics and maintenance, the newly built MILGEM frigate chose the "Hongqi" -16 air defense missile, which is regarded as a matter of course or a natural thing, but the Pakistan Navy has abandoned the "Hongqi" -16 air defense missile with excellent air defense performance.
The "Albatross NG" ship-to-air missile adopts a relay inertial guidance plus a terminal active radar guidance system, equipped with a two-way data link, which is used to transmit missile information and update target information, so that the missile has the characteristics of not having to care after launch, and the missile will automatically search for the surface target to be attacked.
The missile is 4.2 meters long, has a diameter of 0.19 meters, a bomb weight of 190 kg, a maximum flight speed of Mach 3 and a maximum range of 45 kilometers; the missile has the layout capability of "1 pit and 4 bombs" in the Western standard MK-41 carrier-based vertical launcher, so that the 2-unit MK-41 silo on the improved MILGEM frigate has up to 64 "Albatross NG" ship-to-air missiles.
At this point, readers with a little military common sense, for the Pakistan Navy at the critical moment, abandoned the "Hongqi" -16 air defense missile, and adopted the European Missile Group's (MBDA) "Albatross NG" ship-to-air missile system, basically has been cleared, the range is roughly the same "Hongqi" -16 air defense missile, does not have the "1 pit 4 bombs" device capability.
If the Pakistan Navy inserts the "Hongqi" -16 air defense missiles in the two 8-unit MK-41 ship-based vertical launchers, it will be 16 at most, and the number of anti-aircraft missiles will rise to 64 if the "Albatross NG" ship-based air defense missiles are inserted.
Improved MILGEM frigate, in the procurement of anti-aircraft missiles, the Pakistan Navy after a very rigorous assessment, in the end, than the "Hongqi" -16 air defense missile is smaller and more advanced in the guidance method of the "Albatross NG" ship-to-air missile system won, "Hongqi" -16 air defense missile unfortunately failed.
The Pakistan Navy by the Turkish shipyard responsible for the manufacture of 4 improved MILGEM frigates, using the European Missile Group (MBDA) "Albatross NG" ship-to-air missile system, but also to the Chinese air defense missile researchers once again a wake-up call, in the Western MK-41 shipboard vertical launcher, can generally have medium-range air defense missiles "1 pit 4 bombs" layout under the premise of the Chinese Navy 054A frigate and even 052D, The Type 055 standard 850mm large-diameter shipboard vertical launcher still does not have the "1 pit and 4 bombs" arrangement capability for medium-range air defense missiles.
In peacetime, of course, this does not matter, wartime will seriously restrict the number of medium-range air defense missiles carried by the Chinese Navy's Type 054 frigates, Type 052D, Type 055 destroyers and other main battleships, and then affect the ability of the Chinese Navy's main battleships to resist the saturation attack of anti-ship missiles.