Turkish shipyard launches 4th Milgem Babur class corvette Tariq for Pakistan.

According to a tweet published by ASFAT on August 2, 2023, in a grand ceremony attended by the Turkish Vice President Mr. Cevdet Yilmaz and the Prime Minister of Pakistan, the fourth ship of the Babur class (Milgem project) corvette PNS Tariq, was launched into the blue waters at the Karachi Shipyard.
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Launching ceremony of the Babur class corvette PNS Tariq. (Picture source: ASFAT)

The PNS Tariq is the fourth Babur-class corvette (also known as the PN MILGEM class), a collection of heavy corvettes constructed for the Pakistan Navy.

This class is a subgroup of the Turkish MILGEM project, featuring larger and heavier characteristics than the Turkish Ada-class corvette and is furnished with Vertical Launching System (VLS).

Featuring a length of 108.8 m and a displacement of 2,888 tons, the ship carries a beam of 14.8 m and a draught of 4.05 m. The propulsion system includes two MTU 16V 595 TE90 engines and one General Electric LM2500 engine, contributing to a maximum speed of 27–31 knots. The ship has a range of 3,500 nautical miles and an endurance of 15 days.

PNS Tariq employs various radar systems, including the SMART-S Mk2 passive electronically scanned array (PESA) radar, the Aselsan ALPER low-probability-of-intercept radar (LPI), and the AKREP (AKR-D Block B-1/2) fire-control radar. The primary sonar system of the ship is the Meteksan YAKAMOS sonar system.

The electronic warfare capabilities include the Aselsan ARES-2N radar ESM system, coupled with ELINT and SIGINT modules. This system can detect, intercept, classify, track, and record electromagnetic emissions from various targets.

The ship's tracking systems include the Aselsan SeaEye-AHTAPOT electro-optical surveillance system (EO) and the Aselsan PIRI infrared search and track (IRST) system.

The anti-air warfare capabilities comprise a 12-cell or 16-cell GWS-26 VLS. Instead of the initially planned Chinese-origin HHQ-16 surface-to-air missiles, the Pakistan Navy decided in 2021 to use the Albatros NG surface-to-air missiles developed by MBDA. These missiles can counter a variety of aerial threats, including anti-ship missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, and precision-guided munitions.

For anti-submarine warfare, the corvettes are equipped with two 3-cell Mark 32 324 mm lightweight torpedo tubes and an anti-submarine helicopter, thought to be the AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat.