In 2005, Pakistan ordered four F-22P frigates from China, and after China's delivery, Pakistan was very satisfied, and has since ordered four more frigates.

[F-22P frigate]

But in 2022, the F-22P frigate is facing the problem of upgrading and refitting, and Pakistan Railway did not choose China's major shipyards, but why?

What are the advantages of MDBA Group

MDBA Group is an arms giant formed by four European countries, and it is also a leading leader in the industry.

The MDBA Group's business covers a wide range of missile and critical supporting air defence system technologies.

Among them, the more well-known products include:

The land-based models of these anti-aircraft missiles are generally equipped by various warships of the United Kingdom, France and other countries, so the military products of the MDBA group are quite trustworthy, which may be one of the reasons why Pakistan chose the MDBA group.

Of course, the specific problem still needs to be analyzed specifically, it is reported that the Pakistani railway selected the MDBA group's Albatos air defense system, which belongs to the multi-purpose missile developed by Italy, including the ship-to-air type.

The missile's speed is about Mach 2.5, the range is about 80 kilometers, and the ship-to-air version is only 50 kilometers.

Compared to China's active air defense systems, the Albatos is less impressive, and with the fact that it is a product of the Cold War era, it is difficult to determine how it will perform in the context of modern warfare.

The question is, why did Pakistan choose a relatively backward missile? Is it not trusting China's military industry enough?

The choice of Pakistan Railway

Of course this is not the case, if Pakistan did not believe in the Chinese military industry, they would not have imported so many weapons and equipment from China.

One of the main reasons why they chose this Albatos air defense system is that it is light and convenient enough.

With a launch weight of about 230 kilograms, the Albatos missile is generally composed of six launch units, and is widely regarded as a cost-effective ship-to-air missile.

Theoretically, the Albatos air defense system can be equipped with light warships of a minimum of 300 tons, which is a rigid need for many countries that have such small ships but have air defense pressure at sea.

The F-22P frigates that we exported to Pakistan have a standard displacement of only 2,600 tons, and they are equipped with quadruple C-802 anti-ship missile launchers and anti-submarine rocket launchers, which really leaves little space for anti-aircraft missiles.

The original version of the F-22P frigate was equipped with an FM-90N eight-pack anti-aircraft missile launcher, which had a maximum speed of about Mach 2.3 and a range of 10 to 12 kilometers, with a range of 8.5 kilometers against sea-skimming targets.

However, because it was designed relatively early, some of the technology is not very mature, and the reaction time of the system is as long as 6 to 10 seconds, which is a hard flaw for a short-range anti-aircraft missile.

Therefore, in the context of modern warfare, it is understandable that Pakistan and the Railways want to upgrade their products, and they are not only considering how advanced the ship-to-air missiles are, but also the best ones that are suitable.

【Pakistan Navy】

It is not that China does not have an advanced air defense system, like our Hongqi series missiles, which are quite eye-catching in the whole world.

But the problem is that it is very difficult for our Hongqi series missiles to be realized on such small ships.

Take our Hongqi-10 anti-aircraft missile, for example, which can fly at speeds of about Mach 3 to 4 in such a way that once a target is spotted, it can lock onto and shoot it down in a matter of seconds.

Such missiles are generally placed in 24 launch systems, but can also be used in 18 units, which is obviously a considerable burden for Pakistani warships.

So is it possible to develop a low-mounted Hongqi-10 anti-aircraft missile specifically for Pakistan?

Such an idea is not very feasible, because the cost of modifying a joint anti-aircraft missile alone is relatively high, and at the same time, it is necessary to take into account the military-technical secrecy of the foreign trade version.

In addition, the transformation of equipment also needs to take into account the follow-up foreign trade issues, the question is, in addition to the modified Hongqi 10 sold to Pakistan Railway, which other countries?

Therefore, in many respects, the modification of the Hongqi-10 air defense system is a thankless task.

It is estimated that the Pakistani railway side also knows that our current warships are getting bigger and bigger, and they must be technically biased towards some multi-assembled large air defense systems.

Find Italy

Since it is difficult to find relevant military-trade cooperation in China (and certainly not the United States, whose air defense system is larger than China), Pakistan can only look to the West.

Among the many equipment, Pakistan chose the Albatos air defense system, which may be more suitable for the F22P ships they imported.

In the case of 6 units, one salvo can intercept up to 6 air targets.

Let's take matters into account, 6 goals are not a lot, but they are definitely enough for Pakistan and Railway, because the country does not face much maritime threat.

In terms of India's level of missile technology, the hit rate is not high, and even when the firepower is at full range, there are only a few missiles that can hit Pakistan.

Pakistan now has a total of 8 F22P ships, which is equivalent to a round capable of intercepting 48 missiles, which is completely sufficient.

Moreover, the focus of the competition between Pakistan and India is not on the sea, and India does not want a naval war with its rivals.

In general, Pakistan's choice of the Italian air defense system is based on realistic considerations, which are harmless for Sino-Pakistani relations.

If Pakistan has the conditions to use the Hongqi series of anti-aircraft missiles in the future, I believe we are willing to support it.

Resources:

[1] Peng Yang; Technical characteristics of the "Aspide" missile[J]; foreign naval missile dynamics; 1981

[2] Liu Hengjun;" "Aspide" missile development overview[J]; Shanghai Aerospace; 1986

[3] Air Force Wings "Blue Out of Blue, Better Than Blue - Italian "Aspade" Air-to-Air Missile

[4] Tianyi. Technological Leap: A Brief Analysis of the Technological Development of China's Export-oriented Ships[J]. Sea, Land, Air and Space Inertial World, 2011(04):20-37.