Pakistan Navy Launches PNS Ghazi, Fourth Hangor-Class Submarine in China, Redefining Undersea Deterrence in the Indian Ocean

(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — The launch of the Pakistan Navy’s fourth Hangor-class submarine, PNS Ghazi, at the Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group’s Shuangliu Base in Wuhan on December 17, 2025 represents not merely the completion of a construction milestone but a decisive strategic signal that Pakistan is recalibrating its maritime deterrence posture amid intensifying naval competition across the Indian Ocean and broader Indo-Pacific theatre.

The ceremony formally concluded the Chinese construction phase of all four Hangor-class submarines under the landmark 2015 Pakistan-China submarine acquisition agreement, while simultaneously shifting operational focus toward an extended and technically demanding sea-trial regime that will validate propulsion, acoustic stealth, combat systems integration and endurance prior to their handover to the Pakistan Navy.

From a strategic perspective, the launch underscores Islamabad’s determination to anchor its maritime security architecture around survivable, stealth-centric undersea platforms capable of shaping escalation dynamics, complicating adversary planning and reinforcing deterrence stability in a region increasingly defined by contested sea lines of communication and power-projection competition.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations, the military’s media wing, the launch constituted “another significant milestone”, with the Hangor-class submarines described as platforms that “will be pivotal in maintaining peace and stability in the region,” a carefully calibrated formulation that positions Pakistan’s expanding undersea capabilities as a stabilising force rather than an escalatory one.

The presence of senior Pakistani and Chinese defence officials at the ceremony reinforced the deep institutionalisation of bilateral defence cooperation, which has evolved beyond transactional procurement into a long-term strategic partnership encompassing technology transfer, industrial capacity-building and shared operational philosophies.

A Ceremony That Blended Industrial Precision, Strategic Messaging and Diplomatic Signalling

The launch ceremony at the Shuangliu Base unfolded as a choreographed convergence of industrial capability and geopolitical messaging, with imagery of PNS Ghazi entering the water rapidly circulating across official and semi-official channels to signal progress, credibility and momentum in Pakistan’s most consequential naval modernisation programme.

The Shuangliu Base itself, a critical node within China’s expansive submarine production ecosystem, has played a central role in delivering complex undersea platforms under compressed timelines despite global supply-chain disruptions, advanced subsystem integration challenges and heightened scrutiny of military-industrial outputs.

PNS Ghazi follows the sequential launches of the first Hangor-class submarine in April 2024, the second on March 15, 2025, and the third on August 15, 2025, establishing a production cadence that demonstrates maturation of the programme after early delays linked to pandemic-era industrial dislocations and system-integration complexities.

With all four China-built units now afloat, the programme enters its most technically demanding phase, as each submarine undergoes comprehensive harbour acceptance tests and sea trials covering propulsion performance, air-independent propulsion endurance, acoustic signatures, sonar effectiveness and combat-system reliability.

These trials are expected to extend into 2026, with handover to the Pakistan Navy anticipated by mid-2026, a timeline that aligns with Pakistan’s broader force-structuring objectives and the planned retirement curve of legacy submarine assets.

The naming of the submarine as PNS Ghazi carries layered symbolic weight, deliberately invoking historical memory while reframing it within a modern strategic narrative centred on resilience, renewal and deterrence credibility.

The original PNS Ghazi, a Tench-class submarine acquired from the United States in 1963, was deployed during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War and was lost off Visakhapatnam, an episode that remains etched into Pakistan Navy institutional memory as both a sacrifice and a formative lesson in undersea warfare.

Reintroducing the name Ghazi, meaning “warrior” or “conqueror,” is therefore not a nostalgic gesture but a deliberate act of narrative reclamation, signalling that Pakistan’s contemporary submarine force is technologically equipped to operate decisively in the high-intensity, sensor-saturated battlespace of modern naval conflict.

As one defence analyst observed, “Naming the new submarine Ghazi is a nod to history, but it’s equipped for the future battles of the deep sea,” a succinct encapsulation of the programme’s symbolic and operational duality.

The Hangor-Class Programme and the Strategic Logic of Pakistan’s Submarine Modernisation

The Hangor-class submarine programme originates from the April 2015 agreement between Pakistan and China for the acquisition of eight diesel-electric attack submarines, a contract valued at approximately US$5 billion (around RM23.5 billion) that remains the largest defence procurement in Pakistan’s naval history.

This agreement emerged from a strategic reassessment within Pakistan’s defence establishment that recognised the growing asymmetry in surface-fleet capabilities vis-à-vis India and identified undersea warfare as the most cost-effective and survivable domain for restoring deterrence equilibrium.

The Hangor-class represents an export derivative of China’s Type 039B Yuan-class submarine, a design lineage optimised for operations in contested littoral and open-ocean environments where stealth, endurance and multi-domain strike integration are paramount.

Under the terms of the agreement, four submarines are constructed in China, while the remaining four are to be assembled at Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works under a structured transfer-of-technology framework designed to embed indigenous industrial competence.

This dual-track construction model reflects a deliberate policy choice to balance near-term capability acquisition with long-term self-reliance, ensuring that Pakistan develops not only platforms but also the human capital, systems integration expertise and sustainment infrastructure necessary for sovereign naval power.

Originally envisaged for delivery between 2022 and 2028, the programme experienced schedule adjustments due to global industrial disruptions and the complexity of integrating Pakistan-specific combat systems, yet has now demonstrably regained momentum.

The Hangor-class name itself draws lineage from PNS Hangor, the Daphné-class submarine that sank the Indian frigate INS Khukri in 1971, marking the first submarine-on-surface-ship kill since World War II and cementing Pakistan Navy’s doctrinal emphasis on undersea lethality.

By invoking this legacy, the programme situates itself within a narrative of asymmetric effectiveness, reinforcing the institutional belief that submarines remain Pakistan’s most potent maritime equaliser.

Technical Capabilities, Weapon Systems and the Undersea Kill-Chain Architecture

Although detailed specifications remain classified, converging open-source assessments indicate that the Hangor-class submarines displace approximately 2,800 tonnes submerged and measure around 76 metres in length, positioning them firmly within the upper tier of conventional attack submarines.

The incorporation of air-independent propulsion, widely assessed to be based on Stirling engine technology, allows the submarines to remain submerged for weeks, significantly reducing exposure to airborne and surface-based anti-submarine warfare assets.

This endurance advantage is strategically decisive in the Arabian Sea, where sustained submerged operations enable persistent presence near critical sea lanes, choke points and potential adversary operating areas without reliance on frequent snorkelling.

The armament suite is centred on six 533-millimetre torpedo tubes capable of deploying heavyweight torpedoes, anti-ship cruise missiles and potentially naval mines, providing multi-mission flexibility across sea-denial and sea-control tasks.

A defining capability is the integration of Pakistan’s indigenous Babur-3 submarine-launched cruise missile, with a reported range of up to 450 kilometres, enabling land-attack and anti-surface strikes from beyond the reach of many defensive systems.

This capability effectively extends Pakistan’s deterrence envelope beneath the surface, complicating adversary planning by introducing uncertainty regarding launch vectors, timing and attribution in a crisis scenario.

Advanced sonar suites, reportedly combining flank arrays, towed arrays and bow-mounted sensors, enhance situational awareness and target discrimination in acoustically complex littoral environments.

Electronic warfare systems, acoustic-signature reduction measures and hydrodynamic optimisation further reinforce survivability, enabling the Hangor-class to operate within heavily monitored battlespaces.

Within Pakistan Navy doctrine, these submarines are optimised for anti-access and area-denial operations, allowing Islamabad to impose operational costs on adversary surface forces attempting to project power into Pakistan’s maritime approaches.

When viewed alongside Pakistan’s upgraded Agosta 90B AIP submarines, which are undergoing modernisation including new fire-control systems and periscopes, the Hangor-class forms part of a layered undersea force structure.

This layered architecture enhances redundancy, complicates adversary targeting and provides operational flexibility across peacetime deterrence patrols, crisis signalling and high-intensity conflict scenarios.

Hangor-Class Submarine – Technical Specifications (Pakistan Navy)

Technology Transfer, Industrial Sovereignty and Defence-Economic Impact

The transfer-of-technology component of the Hangor-class programme constitutes its most transformative dimension, repositioning Pakistan from a submarine operator to an emerging submarine-building state.

By assembling the final four submarines at Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works, Pakistan is embedding advanced manufacturing processes, systems-integration skills and quality-assurance standards into its domestic industrial base.

This process encompasses workforce training, infrastructure modernisation and the gradual localisation of subsystems, laying the groundwork for long-term sustainment and future indigenous design initiatives.

As one Pakistani official stated, “The transfer of technology will not only boost our shipbuilding capabilities but also create jobs and stimulate economic growth,” highlighting the programme’s broader economic and industrial spill-over effects.

From China’s perspective, the programme reinforces its role as a defence partner willing to share complex technologies, aligning with its broader strategic objectives under initiatives such as the Belt and Road framework.

The submarine collaboration complements existing Pakistan-China defence projects ranging from the JF-17 Thunder fighter to surface combatants and missile systems, collectively reinforcing interoperability and doctrinal alignment.

Economically, the US$5 billion investment represents a significant allocation of Pakistan’s defence budget, yet one that Islamabad appears willing to sustain due to the asymmetric strategic value generated by undersea capabilities.

In Malaysian Ringgit terms, the programme’s value of approximately RM23.5 billion underscores the scale of commitment involved and its prioritisation within Pakistan’s long-term defence planning.

Strategic Implications for the Indian Ocean and South Asian Maritime Stability

The induction of the Hangor-class submarines is poised to recalibrate the maritime balance in South Asia, particularly within the Arabian Sea where Pakistan seeks to deny adversaries uncontested naval dominance.

India’s expanding blue-water navy, including aircraft carriers and Scorpène-class submarines, faces a more complex operating environment as Pakistan’s undersea deterrent matures.

Armed with long-range cruise missiles and extended submerged endurance, the Hangor-class enhances Pakistan’s capacity to threaten high-value surface assets from stand-off distances.

As noted in strategic commentary, “Armed with long-range anti-ship missiles, the Hangor class would increase Pakistan’s ability to launch stand-off attacks against Indian naval warships,” underscoring the deterrence calculus driving the programme.

Beyond India-Pakistan dynamics, the submarines also contribute to broader Indian Ocean security considerations, including the protection of sea lines of communication and deterrence against non-state maritime threats.

Critics argue that such acquisitions risk fuelling an arms competition, yet Pakistan frames the programme as a stabilising response to existing imbalances rather than an escalatory initiative.

Future Outlook and Strategic Conclusion

Despite its progress, the Hangor-class programme faces challenges including crew training pipelines, maintenance infrastructure demands and fiscal pressures, yet the transfer-of-technology framework mitigates many long-term risks.

Looking ahead, Pakistan Navy envisions a force of 11 to 12 modern submarines by 2030, with the Hangor-class forming the operational backbone of its undersea fleet.

Potential future enhancements, including advanced battery technologies and unmanned underwater systems, could further evolve the platform’s relevance.

Ultimately, the launch of PNS Ghazi is not merely a shipyard event but a strategic declaration that Pakistan intends to secure its maritime interests through stealth, endurance and technological self-reliance.

In the silent domain beneath the waves, where deterrence is measured in ambiguity and survivability, the Hangor-class submarines are poised to become Pakistan’s most consequential instruments of maritime power projection and strategic stability.

The maturation of the Hangor-class force is also likely to reshape Pakistan Navy’s operational doctrine by accelerating the shift toward network-centric undersea warfare, in which submarines function not as isolated platforms but as integrated nodes within a broader maritime kill-chain linking surface combatants, maritime patrol aircraft, satellites and shore-based command-and-control systems.

As regional navies increasingly invest in long-range maritime surveillance, unmanned surface and underwater vehicles, and persistent ISR architectures, the true strategic value of the Hangor-class will lie in its ability to operate below the threshold of detection while exploiting fleeting windows of informational superiority to impose disproportionate operational costs on adversaries.

The programme further strengthens Pakistan’s second-strike credibility at sea by complicating any adversary’s confidence in neutralising its undersea assets during the opening phases of a conflict, thereby reinforcing deterrence stability through uncertainty rather than overt escalation.

From an industrial and geopolitical standpoint, the successful execution of this submarine programme signals to both partners and competitors that Pakistan is steadily transitioning from a buyer of complex naval platforms into a state capable of absorbing, sustaining and eventually evolving high-end undersea warfare technologies.

In strategic terms, the Hangor-class submarines embody Pakistan’s long-term maritime calculus, where undersea persistence, technological asymmetry and strategic ambiguity converge to ensure that any attempt to dominate the northern Indian Ocean carries risks that cannot be easily quantified or neutralised.

— DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA