Construction, procurement, and deployment
French Navy service
''Sagittaire'' was Keel laying, laid down in 1988, and launched (ship), launched on 9 November 1988 by its builder by French DCNS (company), DCNS in Lorient#Ports, Lorient Naval Yard in France. Her design was based on the , a joint venture by Belgium, France and the Netherlands, and was commissioned (ship), commissioned as (M 650) into the French Navy on 27 July 1989. Her technology came from the Dutch Stork B.V. and Belgian Ateliers de Constructions Electriques de Charleroi, ACEC, while DCNS designed the vessel. In 1990–1991, she saw war operations during the military operation took place in the Gulf War, First Gulf War, and played a supporting role in the Gulf of Oman to clear the naval minefield.Pakistan Navy service
In 1992, Pakistan entered in talks with France for acquiring the minehunters to improve its naval capability. The French Navy offered to sell ''Sagittaire'' which was immediately acquired through a quick payment transaction took place between the two countries in 1992. Upon reporting to its homeport, the Karachi Naval Dockyard, Karachi Naval Base, she was commissioned in the service of Pakistan Navy as ''Munsif'' on 26 October 1992 and went through the refitted modernization at the Karachi Naval Base according to the specifications required by the Pakistan military, including the installation and engineering of the flight deck to accommodate the Aérospatiale Alouette III helicopter. In 1994, Pakistan entered in discussion with the France to design to build to commission the based on the Tripartite class, with PNS ''Munsif'' becoming the lead ship of her class. Based on ''Munsif'', her two sister ships were eventually built in a cooperation between the DCNS and Karachi Shipyard, KSEW Ltd. in 1996 and 1997. , PNS ''Munsif'' remained in active service for the Pakistan Navy.References
Further reading
* Baker, A.D. ''The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World 1998–1999''. Annapolis, Maryland, US: Naval Institute Press, 1998. .External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Munsif (M166) 1988 ships Éridan-class minehunters Ships built in France Munsif-class minehunters Minehunters of Pakistan