Pakistan Navy to Commission PNS Khaibar: Second Babur-Class Frigate to Reshape Indian Ocean Power Balance

(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — The Pakistan Navy is preparing to usher in a new era of naval dominance with the imminent induction of its second Turkish-built Babur-class frigate, a cutting-edge warship designed to transform the maritime balance of power in the Indian Ocean.

PNS Khaibar (F-282), the vessel in question, is set to join the fleet in October 2025 following successful sea acceptance trials earlier this year.

This arrival will bolster Pakistan’s deterrence posture against regional rivals and project its naval strength across vital sea lanes that carry the lifeblood of global trade and energy flows.

The Babur-class program, launched in 2018 under a landmark USD 1.5 billion (RM 6.8 billion) contract with Türkiye’s ASFAT, is one of the most ambitious naval modernization initiatives in Pakistan’s history.

The deal covers four multi-mission corvettes designed for anti-surface, anti-air, and anti-submarine warfare, integrating state-of-the-art stealth features and multinational weapons systems.

Two ships are being built at Istanbul Naval Shipyard, while the other two are under construction at Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works (KSEW), enabling technology transfer and strengthening Pakistan’s indigenous naval shipbuilding base.

This twin-track approach ensures both immediate capability enhancement and long-term industrial self-reliance, a cornerstone of Pakistan’s maritime doctrine.

From Babur to Khaibar: A Rising Fleet

The first vessel of the class, PNS Babur (F-280), was commissioned in September 2023 and is already operational, marking Pakistan’s entry into a new tier of naval power projection.

PNS Khaibar, laid down in May 2021 and launched in November 2022, has now completed its outfitting and harbor tests, successfully passing sea trials in May 2025.

Its induction represents not only a fleet expansion but also a strategic leap in Pakistan’s ability to dominate the Arabian Sea and safeguard its 240,000-square-kilometer exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The remaining two ships—PNS Badr (F-281) and PNS Tariq (F-283)—are being built at KSEW, with launches completed and final trials underway, further embedding Turkish know-how into Pakistan’s shipbuilding ecosystem.

Once completed in early 2026, the program will dovetail into Pakistan’s next-generation Jinnah-class frigate project, a larger 3,300-ton platform jointly developed with ASFAT.

Why the Babur-Class Matters

The Babur-class frigates are tailored for a complex regional environment defined by intensifying competition between the Pakistani and Indian navies.

Equipped with the Harbah anti-ship cruise missile—Pakistan’s indigenous answer to India’s BrahMos—the frigates provide a lethal standoff strike capability with ranges extending up to 700 kilometers.

Their Albatros NG (CAMM-ER) surface-to-air missiles add a formidable air defense umbrella, while the integration of Aselsan’s advanced combat management and electronic warfare systems ensures survivability in modern high-threat environments.

Analysts point out that the Babur-class, with its stealth shaping, SMART-S Mk2 radar, and YAKAMOS sonar, provides Pakistan a level of multi-domain warfare capability comparable to advanced platforms such as Israel’s Sa’ar 6 and Russia’s Steregushchiy-class.

What makes them strategically significant is not just their firepower, but their ability to seamlessly operate alongside Pakistan’s growing fleet of Chinese-built Type 054A/P frigates and Hangor-class submarines, creating a potent triad of naval power.

Technical Specifications of the Babur-Class Frigates

Category	Details
Type	Multi-purpose corvette
Displacement	3,000 tons
Dimensions	Length: 108.8 m; Beam: 14.8 m; Draught: 4.05 m
Propulsion	CODAG with LM2500 gas turbines; 27–31 knots
Range & Endurance	3,500 nm; 15 days
Crew	125 personnel
Armament	– 6 × Harbah cruise missiles – 12 × Albatros NG SAMs – 2 × triple torpedo tubes (324 mm) – 1 × OTO Melara 76 mm – 1 × GOKDENIZ CIWS – 2 × 25 mm STOP RWS
Sensors & Systems	– SMART-S Mk2 radar – ALPER LPI radar – YAKAMOS sonar – ARES-2NC ESM – SeaEye EO/IR suite – Havelsan ADVENT CMS
Aviation	Hangar for 1 × ASW helicopter (AW159 Wildcat)

 

A Broader Strategic Context

The induction of PNS Khaibar is far more than the addition of another frigate to the order of battle—it is a deliberate move within Pakistan’s long-term strategy to counterbalance India’s expanding maritime ambitions.

New Delhi’s naval modernization, exemplified by the commissioning of INS Vikrant and the ongoing development of a second indigenous aircraft carrier, is designed to project Indian naval power deep into the Indian Ocean and beyond.

India is simultaneously advancing its nuclear submarine program, with the Arihant-class SSBNs forming the foundation of its sea-based nuclear deterrent and new nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) planned to escort its carrier strike groups.

For Islamabad, such developments pose a direct challenge, requiring asymmetric responses rather than a like-for-like competition.

The Babur-class provides Pakistan with precisely that—stealthy, multi-role platforms optimized for sea denial, coastal defense, and extended operations, without the cost and logistical burden of aircraft carriers.

These frigates, armed with long-range Harbah cruise missiles and advanced air-defense systems, can operate independently to secure Pakistan’s sea lanes or integrate into larger task groups alongside Chinese Type 054A/P frigates and Hangor-class submarines.

This creates a balanced naval posture in which smaller but technologically sophisticated assets are networked together to offset India’s numerical advantage.

At a strategic level, PNS Khaibar signals Pakistan’s determination to protect critical sea lines of communication (SLOCs), particularly those linking Karachi, Gwadar, and Ormara to global trade routes in the Arabian Sea and beyond.

These routes are not only vital to Pakistan’s economy but also to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), giving them wider geo-economic significance.

The Indian Ocean itself has become the epicenter of great power rivalry.

The United States seeks to maintain naval primacy through its Fifth and Seventh Fleets, China is expanding its footprint with bases in Djibouti and potential access agreements in the Maldives and East Africa, and India is positioning itself as the dominant regional naval power.

Against this backdrop, Pakistan’s induction of the Babur-class is both a deterrent to India and a statement to global players that Islamabad intends to secure its maritime interests and participate in shaping the regional security order.

The choice of Türkiye as a partner is equally significant.

By blending Turkish technology, such as advanced combat management systems and sensors, with Pakistan’s growing local shipbuilding capacity, the program represents more than procurement—it is an industrial and strategic partnership.

This Ankara–Islamabad cooperation is increasingly being framed as part of a broader geopolitical alignment, where both countries leverage defense collaboration to assert autonomy from traditional Western suppliers and reinforce ties with China.

It also provides Pakistan with diversification of defense suppliers at a time when India is deepening security partnerships with the United States, France, and Japan through frameworks such as the Quad.

For Türkiye, the program strengthens its defense export profile in Asia, establishing it as a reliable partner in naval modernization at a time when it is expanding influence across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia.

The induction of PNS Khaibar thus encapsulates more than naval modernization—it is a symbol of shifting alliances, regional counterbalances, and the sharpening contest for dominance across the Indian Ocean.

It underlines that Pakistan’s navy is no longer content with a defensive role confined to coastal waters but is evolving into a force with regional impact, capable of shaping both deterrence and diplomacy in an increasingly contested maritime domain.

Looking Ahead

The Babur-class frigates represent a critical building block, but they are only one element in Pakistan’s broader ambition to transform its navy into a credible blue-water force capable of sustained operations far beyond its littoral waters.

Islamabad is pursuing a multi-pronged modernization strategy that blends surface combatants, submarine forces, maritime aviation, and advanced missile systems into an integrated naval order of battle.

Alongside the Babur-class, Pakistan has commissioned four Chinese-built Type 054A/P frigates, each armed with 32-cell vertical launch systems and advanced sensors, offering area air-defense capabilities that were previously absent in the fleet.

This surface expansion is being matched underwater, with the acquisition of eight Hangor-class (Type 039B Yuan-class) submarines from China, four of which are being assembled domestically, underscoring Pakistan’s emphasis on undersea warfare dominance.

Submarines have long been considered Pakistan’s ultimate strategic equalizer against India’s numerically superior surface fleet, and the Hangor-class—with their air-independent propulsion (AIP) and potential for Babur-3 submarine-launched cruise missiles—will dramatically increase second-strike survivability.

In parallel, the Pakistan Navy is investing heavily in maritime airpower. The service is integrating the JF-17 Thunder Block III into maritime strike roles, armed with CM-400AKG anti-ship missiles, while also operating long-range surveillance aircraft like the ATR-72 MPA and refurbished P-3C Orions.

Unmanned aerial systems are emerging as a central pillar of Pakistan’s doctrine, with indigenous UAVs providing persistent ISR coverage over the Arabian Sea and bolstering targeting networks for surface and submarine-launched missiles.

Onshore, coastal defense is being reinforced through the deployment of the Zarb land-based cruise missile system, an adaptation of the C-602, which provides Pakistan with a distributed, mobile, and survivable anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) capability.

This layered approach—surface ships, submarines, aviation, UAVs, and coastal defenses—creates overlapping rings of deterrence that complicate any adversary’s operational planning.

Pakistan’s modernization is not occurring in isolation but within the context of an intensifying naval arms race in South Asia. India’s induction of INS Vikrant, development of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs), and procurement of advanced destroyers highlight a bid for regional naval supremacy.

For Pakistan, matching India ship-for-ship is unrealistic, but asymmetric counterweights—stealth frigates, AIP submarines, supersonic and hypersonic missiles, and maritime drones—allow Islamabad to maintain credible deterrence without mirroring New Delhi’s carrier-focused strategy.

The upcoming Jinnah-class frigate project, expected to displace around 3,300 tons, will build on the Babur-class experience and mark a leap in indigenous design and construction.

It will also embed lessons from both Turkish and Chinese collaborations, potentially incorporating longer-range air-defense systems, enhanced radar arrays, and expanded missile payloads to provide a heavier, more versatile platform for Pakistan’s fleet.

Beyond hard power, Pakistan is also increasing its participation in multinational naval exercises, from AMAN series drills in Karachi to joint maneuvers with China, Russia, and Türkiye.

This not only builds interoperability but also signals Pakistan’s intent to act as a regional naval stakeholder, protecting sea lines of communication that are critical to its own economy and the wider global trading system.

The culmination of these programs signals that Pakistan’s naval modernization is no longer aspirational or symbolic.

It is becoming a tangible reality, one that will reshape the strategic balance in the Indian Ocean, influence Indian naval planning, and draw the attention of extra-regional powers including the United States, China, and Gulf states reliant on uninterrupted maritime security.

By 2030, if current trajectories hold, Pakistan’s navy will no longer be confined to a coastal defense role.

Instead, it will stand as a flexible, layered, and networked maritime force capable of deterring aggression, securing vital sea lanes, and asserting its presence in one of the world’s most contested maritime theaters.

— DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA