The ''Babur''-class corvette, also known as the PN MILGEM class, is a class of four heavy

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

s under construction for 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' ...

. This class is a subclass of the Turkish MILGEM project. The corvette class is heavier and larger than the Turkish and are also equipped with VLS.

Instrumentation

Armament

*Anti-surface warfare As for its

anti-surface warfare Anti-surface warfare (ASuW or ASUW) is the branch of naval warfare concerned with the suppression of surface combatants. More generally, it is any weapons, sensors, or operations intended to attack or limit the effectiveness of an adversary's su ...

(ASuW) capabilities, the

s feature two triple-cell launchers for six

anti-ship missile An anti-ship missile (AShM) is a guided missile that is designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea skimming variety, and many use a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing. A good ...

s of an undisclosed designation. Although the missiles-in-question are yet to divulged, it is believed that they may actually be the Harbah anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCM), currently in service with the

. The Harbah is an anti-ship variant of the

Babur Babur ( fa, , lit= tiger, translit= Bābur; ; 14 February 148326 December 1530), born Mīrzā Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad, was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his ...

subsonic cruise missile, featuring an approximate range of . *Anti-air warfare As for its anti-air warfare (AAW) capabilities, the corvettes feature a 12-cell GWS-26

vertical launching system A vertical launching system (VLS) is an advanced system for holding and firing missiles on mobile naval platforms, such as surface ships and submarines. Each vertical launch system consists of a number of ''cells'', which can hold one or mor ...

(VLS) configuration - according to illustrations of the vessels released by KSEW. Opposingly, other illustrations of the corvettes released by INSY depict a 16-cell VLS arrangement at the bow. Initially, the corvettes were selected to feature the Chinese-origin HHQ-16

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...

s, developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC). However, in 2021 - the Pakistan Navy revealed that it had selected the Albatros NG surface-to-air missiles developed by MBDA, instead. The Albatros NG - a variant of the CAMM-ER naval anti-air missile, features an approximate range of over , with the capability to neutralize various aerial threats - including anti-ship missiles,

unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...

s and

precision-guided munition A precision-guided munition (PGM, smart weapon, smart munition, smart bomb) is a guided munition intended to precisely hit a specific target, to minimize collateral damage and increase lethality against intended targets. During the First Gul ...

s. Incidentally, the PN MILGEM corvettes are also the first surface warships to utilize the Albatros NG. *Anti-submarine warfare As for its

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...

(ASW) capabilities, the corvettes feature two 3-cell Mark 32 324 mm lightweight

torpedo tube A torpedo tube is a cylindrical device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units (also referred to as torpedo launchers) installed aboa ...

s, along with an anti-submarine helicopter. Although the helicopter's designation is yet to divulged, it is believed that the corvettes may feature the AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat. *Guns The corvettes feature one OTO Melara 76 mm naval gun, one Aselsan GOKDENIZ 35 mm

close-in weapon system 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 ...

and two Aselsan STOP 25 mm remote weapon stations - for providing short-range point defense against both aerial and surface threats.

Sensors

In a parallel fashion to the Ada-class corvettes, the ''Babur'' class feature similar radar equipment, including :- *Radar The PN MILGEM class is equipped with the

SMART-S Mk2 SMART-S Mk2 ''(Signaal Multibeam Acquisition Radar for Tracking, S band Mk2)'' is a naval medium to long-range air and surface surveillance multibeam passive electronically scanned array 3D radar designed by Thales Nederland, formerly Hollandse ...

passive electronically scanned array (PESA)

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

, license manufactured by Aselsan. The SMART-S Mk2 is a three-dimensional, multi-beam, long-range surface/aerial surveillance radar, featuring an azimuth of 360^o, with the capability to track both aerial and surface targets - at ranges of approximately and , respectively. The class also features the Aselsan ALPER

low-probability-of-intercept radar A low-probability-of-intercept radar (LPIR) is a radar employing measures to avoid detection by passive radar detection equipment (such as a radar warning receiver (RWR), or electronic support receiver) while it is searching for a target or enga ...

(LPI) - for detecting and tracking both aerial and surface targets. The ALPER features an approximate range of . In addition to the SMART-S Mk2 and the ALPER, the corvettes are also equipped with the AKREP (AKR-D Block B-1/2)

fire-control radar A fire-control radar (FCR) is a radar that is designed specifically to provide information (mainly target azimuth, elevation, range and range rate) to a fire-control system in order to direct weapons such that they hit a target. They are sometim ...

(FCR) - capable of tracking and providing target information over an approximate range of . *Sonar The corvettes feature the Meteksan YAKAMOS

sonar system Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect objects on or ...

, as its primary sonar suite. The YAKAMOS is a hull-mounted, medium-frequency anti-submarine/obstacle-avoidance sonar, capable of detecting sub-surface targets within an azimuth of 360^o azimuth over a range of . *Electronic warfare As part of its electronic warfare (EW) capabilities, the corvettes feature the Aselsan ARES-2N radar ESM system, along with ELINT and SIGINT modules. The ARES-2N is a long-range electronic support system, capable of detecting, intercepting, classifying, tracking and recording electromagnetic emissions of various targets, over an operating frequency of 2-18 GHz. *Tracking systems As part of its tracking capabilities, the PN MILGEM class features the Aselsan SeaEye-AHTAPOT electro-optical surveillance system (EO) - capable of tracking targets at a range of and the Aselsan PIRI infrared search and track (IRST) system - capable of tracking 150 targets simultaneously, over an azimuth of 360^o. In addition to the two aforementioned systems, the class is also equipped with the Northrop Grumman LN-270

INS INS or Ins or ''variant'', may refer to: Places * Ins, Switzerland, a municipality * Creech Air Force Base (IATA airport code INS) * Indonesia, ITF and UNDP code INS Biology *'' Ins'', a New World genus of bee flies * INS, the gene for the insul ...

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...

navigation system, for providing

geopositioning Geopositioning, also known as geotracking, geolocalization, geolocating, geolocation, or geoposition fixing, is the process of determining or estimating the geographic position of an object. Geopositioning yields a set of geographic coordinates ...

and turret stabilization.

Ships of the class

References

{{reflist Corvette classes

Instrumentation

Armament

Sensors

Ships of the class

See also

Ships of notable comparison and era

Other references to the Pakistan Navy

References