Turkish Defense Firm Wins Contract From Pakistan Navy

Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik ve Ticaret A.Ş. (STM), a Turkish company,  has recently won a Ministry of Defence Production (MoDP) contract from Pakistan Navy. As part of this contract, the Turkish defence firm will be lending its expertise for a port design and hydrographic/oceanographic survey.

In a press release, STM said:

“Within the scope of the project, the detail design of the port will be done by STM, including hydrographic/oceanographic survey and geological and geotechnical survey studies to meet the needs of the Pakistan Navy.”

The contract suggests that Pakistan Navy is working on an infrastructure program which might be linked to the announcement of submarines fleet shift to Jinnah Base Ormara in 2014.

The move comes at a crucial time, as Pakistan Navy is aiming to improve its operations. Its most recent collaboration with the Turkish contractor serves to reinforce this fact as well, with more projects between the two already signed for the foreseeable future.

 

Recent Projects of Pakistan Navy

The Naval force has recently launched a few projects, which are as follows:

• A very low-frequency radio communications base in Sindh in November 2016,
• Naval Air Station PNS Siddiq at Turbat, Baluchistan in May 2017.

Navy’s Recent and Upcoming Contracts with STM

The Turkish company and Pakistan Navy also have more projects in the offing. These include:

• $80-90 million for a U.S. 15,600-ton fleet tanker in collaboration with Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works’ (KSEW) which was launched in August 2016.
• MoDP contract worth $350 million for mid-life upgrade of Navy’s Khalid-class Agosta 90B submarines, with the first ship to be delivered in 2020.
• Letter-of-intent for the sale of four MILGEM corvettes – to replace its obsolete Type 21 frigates – with STM and Turkish Government was signed in May 2017. The total cost for this project is reported to be $1 billion.
• Replacing Navy’s Cosmos MG110 mini-SSKs with the miniature diesel-electric submarine (SSK) in collaboration with KSEW.

In addition to these, Pakistan Navy is consulting with STM for four to six new fast attack crafts for Gwadar port. The Navy also intends to buy Navy Rescue and Salvage Vessel, which could be a potential opportunity for STM as well.

Via Quwa