ISLAMABAD/RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Navy’s newly-inducted submarine PNS/M Hangor successfully conducted its maiden live weapon firing in the North Arabian Sea, accurately engaging a designated long-range target with an anti-ship cruise missile.
The Hangor-class submarine, equipped with advanced combat systems, modern sensors, Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) technology and enhanced stealth features, arrived at Karachi Port in June, underscoring the deepening strategic defence cooperation between Pakistan and China. Thenavy is set to induct a total of eight Hangor-class submarines.
The name Hangor holds a significant place in Pakistan’s naval history, referring to the 1971 PakistanIndia war, during which then-PNS Hangor became the first submarine since World War II to sink a warship when it sank the Indian frigate INS Khukri.
Terming it a ‘major demonstration of operational readiness’, the military’s media wing said the newly inducted PNS/M Hangor accurately engaged a ‘designated long-range target with an anti-ship cruise missile’ during the weapon firing exercise.
Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf witnessed the firing, praising the submarine’s combat power and emphasising the ‘strategic importance of enhancing subsurface capabilities for credible maritime deterrence’. The milestone underscores the PakistanNavy’s commitment to maintaining a modern, combat-ready force to safeguard national maritime frontiers and regional peace, ISPR highlighted.
President Asif Ali Zardari paid tribute to the navy on the successful firing, lauding the ‘operational readiness and enhancement’ of naval defence capabilities, his office said in a post on X.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also congratulated the Pakistan Navy and its leadership on the first live weapons firing by the newly inducted submarine, according to a statement issued by his office.
The submarine successfully struck a long-range target with an anti-ship cruise missile, demonstrating the operational readiness, professional expertise and combat capability of Pakistan Navy’s submarine force,’ he was quoted as saying.