On Sunday, Turkey inaugurated the first Milgem Class Corvette for Pakistan Navy at the Istanbul Naval Shipyard. President Dr. Arif Alvi and the First Lady attended the ceremony as chief guests. Moreover, President Erdogan too attended the ceremony.
Chief of the Naval Staff of Pakistan Admiral M. Amjad Khan Niazi, speaker of Turkish Grand National Assembly Mustafa Sentop, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar, Chief of the General Staff Gen Yasar Güler, and Commander of Naval Forces Admiral Adnan Özbal also attended the ceremony.
During the ceremony, the First Lady, Samina Alvi, launched the warship with a prayer. Both the presidents also jointly performed the steel cutting of Akhisar, the offshore patrol vessel for the Turkish Navy.
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President of Pakistan during his address at ceremony thanked Turkish government for construction of naval ships for Pakistan. He emphasized that this project is a testimony of strong relations b/w the two countries. Naval Chief also lauded great achievement of MILGEM project(2/2)
— DGPR (Navy) (@dgprPaknavy) August 15, 2021
Speaking on the occasion, President Alvi thanked Turkey for the timely construction of the warship named PNS Babur.
He also emphasized Pakistan and Turkey further strengthening their cooperation across various spheres, particularly in defense, to deal with common challenges and new and emerging threats.
President Erdogan too stressed the broad defense partnership between the two nations.
“We are in agreement (with Pakistan) to further our partnership in the defense industry,” Erdogan said, addressing the ceremony.
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Special features of the warship
In 2018, Pakistan and Turkey signed a contract for four Milgem class corvettes for Pakistan Navy. Under the contract, two ships are to be constructed at the Istanbul Naval Shipyard and the other two at the Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works.
As per President Erdogan, Turkey will complete the deliveries by 2025.
The MILGEM (National Ship) marine platforms project is a Turkish warship program that aims to develop multipurpose corvettes and frigates that can help in a range of missions. The missions include reconnaissance, surveillance, early warning, anti-submarine warfare, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air warfare, and amphibious operations.
The MILGEM corvettes will have highly sophisticated anti-air weapons, and sensors, integrated through an advanced network central combat management system.
Furthermore, MILGEM anti-submarine combat frigates can be hidden from the radar. This will further enhance the defense capability of the Pakistan Navy.
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Also, the vessels are on average 99 meters (325 feet) long with a displacement capacity of around 24,00 tons and can move at a speed of 29 nautical miles.
The Milgem Corvettes by Turkey will help the Pakistan Navy to increase its efforts in maintaining peace and security in the Indian Ocean region.