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India
This Week in AsiaPolitics

Pakistan’s Chinese stealth submarines set to spur Indian navy’s upgrade as Beijing eyes oceanic expansion

  • Pakistan’s eight Hangor-class submarines are equipped with technology that surpass that of India’s current Scorpène-class submarines, analysts say
  • By supplying the submarines to its Pakistani ally, China is set to establish a bigger military presence in the Indian Ocean

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The launch of the first Hangor- class submarine constructed for Pakistan Navy at Wuhan, China. Photo: Handout
Junaid Kathju
Pakistan’s acquisition of the first of eight advanced Hangor-class Chinese submarines marks a strategic edge for Islamabad in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea, with analysts and former Indian military officials noting New Delhi is lagging in the underwater domain as a “greater Chinese presence” mounts in the region.
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The new stealth submarine for Pakistan is Beijing’s way of “building a pressure point” on India, analysts say, a move which is expected to spur India to ramp up its naval capabilities.

According to the analysts, the Hangor-class submarines boasting advanced technology such as air-independent propulsion (AIP) and new sensors have an advantage over India’s highest Kalvari class – or Scorpène-class – submarines.

Former India’s chief of naval staff Admiral Arun Prakash told This Week in Asia that diesel submarines or conventional submarines with AIP had a bigger edge as none of India’s submarines were equipped with AIP technology.

“The only comparable submarine to AIP-equipped subs is a nuclear-attack submarine, but they are also quite noisy and can be detected from a long range. We have nuclear submarines but those are ballistic missile submarines, they are not meant for a routine role until we have a nuclear attack.”

Indian navy sailors salute onboard the INS Vela, a French-designed fourth Scorpène submarine under the Kalvari-class submarine Project-75, at the naval base in Mumbai in 2021. Photo: AFP
Indian navy sailors salute onboard the INS Vela, a French-designed fourth Scorpène submarine under the Kalvari-class submarine Project-75, at the naval base in Mumbai in 2021. Photo: AFP

The Hangor-class boats have much greater capability in underwater endurance and can remain submerged up to 10 to 14 days, far surpassing the usual 48-hour endurance of other diesel-type vessels.

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