PAKISTAN’S HANGOR CLASS SUBMARINE PROGRAMME – AN UPDATE

Rear Admiral Monty Khanna (Retd) – ‘Dabolim Diaries’ Issue No 22 dated 17 May 2026

This brief is an update on Pakistan’s Hangor Class submarine programme, an earlier report on which was published on 25 March 2025. Several notable events have happened since this was published. These are as listed in the subsequent paragraphs.

Launch of Hull No 3

The launch ceremony of Hull No 3 (Mangro) was held at Shuangliu Base of Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group Company Ltd (WSIL) in Wuhan, China on 16 Aug 2025 (Fig 1). It was presided over by Vice Admiral Abdul Samad, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (Project-2) who was the Chief Guest.

Fig 1: Launch Ceremony of Hull No 3 at Shuangliu Base, Wuhan on 16 Aug 2025

Launch of Hull No 4

The launch ceremony of Hull No 4 (Ghazi), the last of the Chinese–built boats under this programme was held at Shuangliu Base of WSIL on 17 Dec 2025 (Fig 2). The launch ceremony was attended by senior officials from Pakistan and China.

Fig 2: Launch Ceremony of Hull No 3 at Shuangliu Base, Wuhan on 17 Dec 2025

 Commissioning of PNS Hangor

The commissioning ceremony of the first Hangor class submarine was held at Sanya, Hainan in China on 30 Apr 26. The importance that the Pakistan Navy (PN) has assigned to this programme can be gauged from the fact that the ceremony was presided over by Mr. Asif Ali Zardari, the President of Pakistan (Fig 3). The PN Chief, Admiral Naveed Ashraf was also present at the ceremony.

Fig 3: Mr. Asif Ali Zardari, the President of Pakistan at Commissioning Ceremony of PNS/M Hangor on 30 Apr 26

Fig 4: Ensign Being Hoisted on PNS/M Hangor on 30 Apr 26

This is the first known commissioning of a foreign naval vessel at Sanya. An analysis of the images associated with the commissioning reveals that the ceremony took place at the newly extended jetty East of the new Dry Dock complex (Fig 5 & Fig 6).

Fig 5: Cranes of New Drydock Complex in Background of PNS/M Hangor at Commissioning 

Fig 6: Assessed Jetty for Conduct of Commissioning Ceremony of PNS/M Hangor on 30 Apr 26

While the PN Official Website refers to the event as a commissioning ceremony, the Chinese terminology used is ‘Delivery Ceremony’ (Fig 7).

Fig 7: Poster Behind Dias Mentioning ‘Delivery Ceremony’

Maiden Passage on PNS Hangor

Post commissioning, PNS/M Hangor commenced her maiden passage to Pakistan in the first week of May. She is being escorted by the Type 52A/P frigate PNS Taimur. Commissioning and subsequently sailing back under one’s own flag is not the practice that has been followed by other submarine operators in the subcontinent who have imported submarines from China. Bangladesh had both her Ming class submarines ferried to Chittagong on a freighter in Dec 2016 (Fig 8).

Fig 8: BN Submarines Being Delivered to Chittagong on a Semi-Submersible Dock Ship

These were subsequently commissioned on 12 Mar 2017. In the case of Myanmar, while the submarine transited under her own power, this voyage was undertaken under a Chinese flag. The submarine was subsequently commissioned on 24 Dec 21.

PNS/M Hangor’s first port of call on her maiden passage was at the Kota Kinabalu Naval Base in Sabah, Malaysia from 8 to 11 May 2026 (Fig 9). Some interesting pictures of the submarine in harbour have been released by the Malaysian Navy.

Fig 9: PNS/M Hangor Entering Kota Kinabalu on 08 May 26

The picture of the fin top while entering harbour shows a raised periscope comprising of a two-stage fairing with a rotating head (Fig 10). The periscope appears to have EO/IR sensing capability. The head includes an ESM warner as is standard in most modern periscopes. The rear edges of both the fairings appear to be flat. It is possible that this may create eddies while doing higher speeds at periscope depth

Fig 10: Top of the Fin of PNS/M Hangor with Periscope Raised

At the end of the aft casing, just ahead of the rudder are 12 circular ports placed in a staggard manner (Fig 11). These appear to be dispensers for active sonar decoys.

Fig 11: Aft Casing of PNS/M Hangor with Possible Active Sonar Decoy

Another point to note is that on PNS/M Hangor, the snorkel is kept fully lowered. This has not been the practice in PLA Navy Yuan Class submarines where in almost all images of boats in harbour or on surface at sea, the snorkel is left in the raised position (Fig 12).

Fig 12: PLA Navy Yuan Class at Sea with Snorkel Raised

This is possibly indicative of a change in the surface air induction system in PN boats. As mentioned in the previous report on this subject, the delay associated with the change of the main diesel generators from MTU 12V 396 to the Chinese built CHD 620 was utilised to undertake numerous modifications. As per reports, one of the more significant ones undertaken was to modify the snorkel mast and fit it with a pneumatically-operated head valve that allows the draining of the mast while submerged. This considerably lowers the Indiscretion Rate (IR) of the submarine as it allows diesel generators to be started while still submerged as against waiting for the mast to break surface, draining it along with the associated trunking and only then starting diesels.

It is not known at this juncture if PNS Hangor will make any other port calls on her maiden passage. It will be interesting to see if she remains on surface after reaching the Indian Ocean or does a dived transit.

Estimated Delivery Schedule of Three Remaining Chinese Built Boats

The time intervals between launch of the boats built at WSIL are as follows: –

• Boat 1 & 2: 11 months
• Boat 2 & 3: 5 months
• Boat 3 & 4: 4 months

Further, the time interval between launch and commissioning of PNS Hangor was two years. Based on experience gained during commissioning of the first boat, it is anticipated that this time interval will be compressed for subsequent boats. It is therefore highly probable that Boat No 2 will be commissioned by Dec 2026 and the remaining two boats by mid-2027.

Status of Construction of Four Submarines at KSEW

Work on the four submarines being built at KSEW seems to be well behind schedule with the revised induction schedule reportedly being 2028 to 2030. However, given the fact that post the keel laying of the 6^th boat on 14 Feb 2024 at KSEW, no information pertaining to steel cutting of the seventh and eighth boats has been publicized, it is highly likely that this schedule will be further delayed with inductions taking place in the early 2030s.

Overall Status

The compiled overall status of the programme (Boat Numbers 1 to 6) is as tabulated below.

Table 1: Cardinal Dates of Hangor Class Programme (Hull Nos 1 to 6)

 Assessment

Availability of four new AIP-equipped Hangor Class submarines by mid-2027 will significantly boost the capabilities of the PN submarine arm. It is not clear as to where these boats will be based. Construction of shore infrastructure, particularly Liquid Oxygen tanks for meeting AIP requirements would provide early indication of long-term berthing arrangements.

Increased interactions with Chinese-built submarines will help in making a better assessment on their noise levels, quality of their build, and the capabilities and limitations of their weapons and equipment.