While it cannot match the Indian Navy’s strength, the Pakistan Navy’s focus on asymmetric capabilities & growing synergy with the PLAN pose a significant challenge for New Delhi.
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The Pakistan Navy is in the spotlight once again. At a Navy Day press interaction earlier this month, India’s Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Tripathi drew attention to the Pakistan Navy’s ambitious plan to become a 50-ship force within the next decade. The remark has triggered much commentary in the media, where speculation about Pakistan’s naval modernisation is already rife.
With acquisitions like the Type 054A/P frigates, Babur-class corvettes, and Hangor-class submarines, the Pakistan Navy does seem poised for a strategic transformation. Yet, Admiral Tripathi’s questioning the wisdom behind “prioritising weapons over welfare” in a crisis-embattled Pakistan is significant for the strategic rationale that underpins the Pakistan Navy’s lofty plans.
While Pakistan’s political and economic struggles are well documented, what remains less understood is the deeper impetus for its naval modernisation. It is a story shaped by historical anxieties, persistent vulnerabilities, and India’s growing dominance of its maritime neighbourhood. By many accounts, the shock of Operation Trident in 1971—when Indian missile boats struck Karachi’s harbour with devastating precision—continues to haunt Pakistan’s maritime consciousness.
While Pakistan’s political and economic struggles are well documented, what remains less understood is the deeper impetus for its naval modernisation.
To be sure, time has been unkind to the Pakistan Navy, whose vulnerabilities have been repeatedly tested over the decades. During Operation Talwar in 1999 and Operation Parakram in 2001, the Indian Navy imposed what analysts described as “loose blockades” in the Arabian Sea. More recently, in 2019, following the Pulwama terror attack, India’s deployment of over 60 warships near Pakistani waters sent a clear message of Indian resolve to Islamabad.
For Pakistan’s leadership, these episodes underscored the Pakistan Navy’s continuing inability to counterbalance India’s maritime dominance, reinforcing the imperative to build a credible naval deterrent.
It is increasingly evident that India’s increasing power projection has compelled Pakistan to recalibrate its maritime strategy. Once content with a defensive posture, the Pakistan Navy now prioritises platforms that can narrow the asymmetry and challenge India’s growing dominance at sea.
This strategic shift is reflected in Pakistan’s recent acquisitions, marking significant advancements across undersea and surface warfare domains. The launch of its first Hangor-class submarine—equipped with air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems that enhance its endurance and stealth—poses a credible challenge to the Indian Navy.
Equally significant is the successful test of an indigenously developed ship-launched ballistic missile (SLBM)—a clear signal of Pakistan’s intent to establish a robust second-strike nuclear deterrent at sea. The Pakistan Navy has also inducted four Type 054A/P frigates from China and an MILGEM-class corvette (PNS Babur) from Türkiye. Equipped with advanced radar systems, electronic warfare suites, and versatile anti-air and anti-surface weaponry, these warships significantly sharpen the surface fleet’s combat edge, enhancing its ability to project power and operate effectively in contested waters.
Meanwhile, advancements in maritime unmanned systems have strengthened the Pakistan Navy’s surveillance and rapid response capabilities against perceived threats from India.
Equipped with advanced radar systems, electronic warfare suites, and versatile anti-air and anti-surface weaponry, these warships significantly sharpen the surface fleet’s combat edge, enhancing its ability to project power and operate effectively in contested waters.
Consequently, Pakistan’s naval leadership frames the modernisation of the Pakistan Navy as a strategic necessity. In a recent interview, Pakistan’s Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf underscored the need to counter Indian ambitions in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), accusing New Delhi of “disturbing regional peace by blatantly provoking its neighbors”.
While he stopped short of mentioning India’s nuclear triad, Pakistan’s strategic apprehensions in that regard are more than evident. Islamabad’s 2022 National Security Policy highlights New Delhi’s advancing nuclear capabilities: “The expansion of India’s nuclear triad, open-ended statements on nuclear policy, and investments in and introduction of destabilising technologies disturb the strategic balance in the region.”
The anxiety within Pakistan’s decision-making elite is amplified by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) agency, which is known for disseminating disinformation about India. During Exercise Sea Spark in March, the ISPR claimed that Indian warships and submarines covertly attempted to monitor Pakistan’s naval manoeuvres—a charge that neatly fits into Islamabad’s narrative of an ever-present Indian threat. Such narratives serve a dual purpose: they justify Pakistan’s naval build-up to domestic and international audiences while reinforcing the perception of India as a maritime hegemon.
To offset India’s maritime dominance, Pakistan has increasingly turned to China, which has become the Pakistan Navy’s chief architect and primary benefactor. Over the past decade, Beijing has emerged as the Pakistan Navy’s key enabler, delivering advanced platforms and critical technology. A standout example is the Hangor-class submarines, eight of which are being procured under a $5 billion deal. Pakistan is acquiring eight submarines for nearly the same price as India’s six conventional submarines under the long-delayed Project 75 (India), a striking illustration of China’s cost-effective hardware.
China has also supplied Pakistan with the Type 054A/P frigates, whose multi-role capabilities provide the Pakistan Navy with more operational flexibility in the Arabian Sea. The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and the Pakistan Navy have sought to deepen operational synergy through bilateral exercises like Sea Guardians, demonstrating a shared interest in countering India’s growing influence in the IOR.
China’s reluctance to set up a military base here suggests a balancing act—strengthening Pakistan’s position while safeguarding its broader regional interests and avoiding a direct maritime confrontation with India.
Interestingly, China and Pakistan have refrained from militarising Gwadar, despite its strategic location and clear potential for dual-use operations. While Gwadar is a key hub in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and holds latent military value, Beijing has chosen to keep its activities there largely commercial. China’s reluctance to set up a military base here suggests a balancing act—strengthening Pakistan’s position while safeguarding its broader regional interests and avoiding a direct maritime confrontation with India.
Even so, caution over Gwadar does not change the reality that the Pakistan Navy’s modernisation remains a strategic challenge for India. With advanced submarines, modern frigates, and unmanned systems boosting the Pakistan Navy’s capabilities, the Indian Navy must stretch its resources to keep pace. Further, the growing prospect of a Pakistan-China nexus in the Arabian Sea complicates India’s maritime calculus.
While it cannot match the Indian Navy’s overall strength, the Pakistan Navy’s emphasis on asymmetric capabilities—such as submarines and sea-based deterrence—alongside its growing synergy with the PLAN, poses a significant challenge for New Delhi. For the Indian Navy, this means maintaining a decisive edge while calibrating its posture to counter a more assertive PN-PLAN combine without necessarily resorting to the use of force.
This commentary originally appeared in The Print.
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A former naval officer Abhijit Singh Visiting Fellow at ORF. A maritime professional with specialist and command experience in front-line Indian naval ships he has been ...
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