PNS Hamza being prepared for her depth testings in Karachi in 2006.
History
Pakistan
NamePNS Hamza
NamesakeḤamzah
Ordered21 September 1994
BuilderKSEW Ltd. in Pakistan
Laid down1 March 1997
Launched10 August 2006
Sponsored bySehba Musharraf
Commissioned23 September 2008[1]
In service2008–present
HomeportJinnah Naval Base
IdentificationS-139
StatusIn service
General characteristics
Class and typeAgosta 90Bravo/Khalid-class submarine
Displacement
  • 1,570 long tons (1,595 t) (Surface)
  • 2,050 long tons (2,083 t) (Submerged)
Length249.4 ft (76 m)[2]
Beam22.3 ft (6.8 m)
Draught
  • 27 ft (8.2 m)
  • 26.7 ft (8.1 m)
Installed power2 × Jeumont-Schneider alternators producing: 4,600 hp (3,400 kW).
Propulsion2 × SEMT Pielstick 16 PA4 V 185 VG AIP MESMA: 3,600 hp (2,700 kW), 1 × shaft.
Speed
  • 12.0 knots (22.2 km/h; 13.8 mph) (surface)
  • 20.5 knots (38.0 km/h; 23.6 mph) (submerged)
Range10,000 miles (16,000 km) at 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph)[3]
Endurance150 Days
Test depth1,968.5 ft (600 m)[4][2]
Complement50 (10 officers, 40 enlisted)[5]
Sensors and
processing systems		Towed array sonar
Electronic warfare
& decoys
Armament

PNS/M Hamza (S-139) is a fast-attack submarine powered with an air-independent propulsion system and the third submarine of her Agosta 90B/Khalid-class submarine.[1] She was designed and constructed by the KSEW Ltd. under the technology transfer agreement with France in 1994.

PNS Hamza is the first submarine that has been fitted with the French MESMA system, which was an experimental at that stage– Pakistan is the first country to use the MESMA system in a deep sea on board on a submarine.[1]It was the first submarine built in South Asia to feature Air-independent propulsion.[6]

Design overview

PNS Hamza was designed and built by the KSEW Ltd. at the Karachi Naval Dockyard, with the participation of more than 300 civilian engineers and technicians trained in France's defense industry.[5] In 1999–2004, the French and other European contractors reportedly trained more than 600 Pakistani machinists and metal workers in various construction skills of the submarine to meet the challenges of modern warfare in which submarines play a vital role.[5] The construction of the submarine reportedly involves the employment of the local metal industry in the Navy's submarine construction program as had done previously when Saad was being rebuilt.[5]

PNS Hamza is the most advanced version of the Agosta 90B design and is more advanced than her two sister ship, Khalid and Saad, as its outer hull is light steel structure, HLES 80, was built at the Pakistan Steel and fabricated at the Naval Dockyard in Karachi in element parts and mounted on the inner pressure hull.[7] The pressure hull section was fabricated and outfitted by the Naval Dockyard in collaboration with the Karachi Shipyard.[7]

PNS Hamza was laid down on 1 March 1997 in Karachi, and the steel cutting started by the Pakistan Steel Mills.[8]: 530  The construction of the submarine started in 1998 by KSEW Ltd. at the Karachi Naval Dockyard, followed by fabrication of 12 pressure hull sub-sections and culminating into three pressure hull sections. This was followed by mounting of light bulkheads, internal tanks and ballast panels in August 2003.[5]

Service

On 10 August 2006, Hamza was launched, sponsored by Sehba Musharraf, the First Lady of Pakistan, and is named after Ḥamzah ibn ‘Abdul-Muṭṭalib– the companion and paternal uncle of Muhammad.[1] Her maximum depth test was approximated at the 1,968.5 ft (600 m) in the Indian Ocean[4][2] with the MESMA system, and is capable of launching the Exocet SM39 missiles while submerged on a seaborne platform.[9]

After completing series of depth tests and sea trials in the Indian Ocean, Hamza was commissioned by then-Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on 23 September 2008, and joined the Navy's Submarine Command on 26 September 2008.[9][10] Her crew complement is reported as 50 personnel (10 officers, 40 enlisted).[5]

Upgradations

On 6 March 2018, the DCNS, its original builder, lost the bidding competition with the Turkish firm, STM, for its refitting and upgradation of her weapon system, combat control system, missile rooms, and periscope upgrades, and is slated to return to her active service in 2020 after returning from Turkey.[11]

Upgrades on the submarine were completed in early 2021 and she was delivered to the Pakistan navy in April that year.[12][13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Agosta 90b". Pakistan Navy. 11 May 2012. Archived from the original on 11 May 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "SSK Agosta 90B Class Submarine". Naval Technology. New York. Archived from the original on 1 September 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2018. The Agosta 90B's performance remains the same in all other respects, except that the length increases from 67m to 76m and submerged displacement from 1,760t to 2,050t.
  3. ↑ "Accountability should be across- the-board: Asma". The News. 11 July 2006. Archived from the original on 30 December 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  4. 1 2 Jane, Frederick Thomas (1999). Jane's Fighting Ships. S. Low, Marston & Company. p. 637. ISBN 9780710619051.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Agosta submarine will enhance PN capability". Dawn. 11 July 2006. Archived from the original on 30 December 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  6. ↑ "Pakistan Submarine Capabilities". NTI. Archived from the original on 12 January 2020.
  7. 1 2 "Another Agosta submarine ready". Dawn. 23 September 2008. Archived from the original on 30 December 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  8. ↑ Wertheim, Eric (2005). The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 9781591149347. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  9. 1 2 "Pak submarine joins naval drills in Jubail". Arab News. 13 May 2014. Archived from the original on 25 September 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  10. ↑ "Submarine Hamza to be commissioned on Sept 26". Aaj News. Associated Press of Pakistan. Archived from the original on 30 December 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  11. ↑ Gady, Franz-Stefan (6 March 2018). "Turkey to Upgrade Pakistan Navy'a attack sub". The Diplomat. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  12. ↑ "Pakistan validates post-upgrade capabilities of Khalid-class submarine in sinking exercise". 23 March 2022.
  13. ↑ "Agosta 90B Class Submarine PNS/M HAMZA (S-139), modernized by STM for the Pakistan Navy". 18 March 2022.
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