Turkish Defense Firm, ASFAT and Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works (KS&EW) will launch the 4th PN Milgem Corvette, PNS TARIQ (283) on 2nd August 2023. This is the last ship of the Milgem agreement between Pakistan Navy and ASFAT. Under that agreement, 2 ships were manufactured in the Türkiye and remaining two were in Pakistan, at Karachi Shipyard.
Military Factory and Shipyard Operations Inc. (ASFAT) acts as main contractor in this project and ASFAT also shares technology and know-how with the Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works (KS&EW). PNS Tariq is a modern corvette, planned to be equipped with state-of-the-art sensors and weapon systems. This ship has a range of 108.2 meters and width of about 14.8 meters. The term “Milgem” stands for “Milli Gemi” in Turkish, meaning “National Ship.” The PN Milgem Corvette project represents the strong cooperation and partnership between Turkey and Pakistan in the field of defense technology.
For Air Defense, PNS Tariq (283) will be armed with CAMM-ER (Common Anti-Air Modular Missile – Extensive Range) which has a range of 50 to 70 against a wide range of aerial threats such as aircraft, UAVs, and Missiles. For point air defense, this ship will be armed with a Turkish Aselsan-built Gökdeniz close-in weapon system. Moreover, these ships will be armed be 6 (two tri-cell) Harbah-NG long range anti-ship & land attack cruise missiles.
Umair Aslam is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Global Defense Insight. He has worked as a defense journalist reporting on military modernization programs, defense industry, arms procurement, and emerging technologies.
