PNS ''Azmat'' is the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of the

missile boat A missile boat or missile cutter is a small, fast warship armed with anti-ship missiles. Being smaller than other warships such as destroyers and frigates, missile boats are popular with nations interested in forming a navy at lower cost. They a ...

s of the

Pakistan Navy ur, ہمارے لیے اللّٰہ کافی ہے اور وہ بہترین کارساز ہے۔ English language, English: Allah is Sufficient for us - and what an excellent (reliable) Trustee (of affairs) is He!(''Quran, Qur'an, Al Imran, 3:173' ...

based on the Chinese design Type 037II Houjian-class. ''Azmat'' was commissioned on 24 April 2012 at

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...

, China after being launched on 20 September 2011. It has the pennant number 1013.

Design

PNS ''Azmat'' FAC(M) is a

green water Maritime geography is a collection of terms used by naval military units to loosely define three maritime regions: brown water, green water, and blue water. Definitions The elements of maritime geography are loosely defined and their meanings ha ...

vessel and does not have

blue water Maritime geography is a collection of terms used by naval military units to loosely define three maritime regions: brown water, green water, and blue water. Definitions The elements of maritime geography are loosely defined and their meanings hav ...

capabilities, and so it is mostly used to patrol the coast, and to assist the

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

in any special operations that require extensive firepower.

Armament

PNS ''Azmat'' is equipped with eight

C-802A The YJ-83 (; NATO reporting name: CSS-N-8 Saccade) is a Chinese subsonic anti-ship cruise missile. It is manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Third Academy.Gromley et al.: page 101 Description The YJ-83 uses ...

anti-ship cruise missiles, carried in two quadruple missile containers. The vessel uses a fully automatic 23 mm gun. The decision to install the 23 mm gun was due to lack of hull space, which meant less storage area for 75-100 mm rounds required for larger guns and weight requirements. Also a 23 mm gun is much easier to maintain than larger 75 mm to 100 mm guns. For its defensive capabilities, ''Azmat'' uses a

CIWS A close-in weapon system (CIWS ) is a point-defense weapon system for detecting and destroying short-range incoming missiles and enemy aircraft which have penetrated the outer defenses, typically mounted on a naval ship. Nearly all classes of la ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Azmat, PMS Missile boats of Pakistan 2011 ships China–Pakistan military relations