On 15 August 2025, Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group Company Ltd launched the Pakistan Navy’s (PN) third Hangor-class air-independent propulsion (AIP)-equipped submarine (SSP) from the Shuangliu Base in Wuhan, China.
The launch ceremony of the submarine, designated PNS/M Mangro, was presided by numerous Chinese and Pakistani officials, among them the PN’s Deputy Chief of Naval Projects, Vice Admiral Abdul Samad and other high-ranking officers.
This is the second Hangor-class SSP launch in 2025, following the launch of PNS/M Shushuk in March, while the lead boat, PNS/M Hangor, was launched in April 2024. Thus far, all of the boats constructed in China have been built at Wuhan.
The Hangor-class is a variant of CSOC’s S26, the export version of the Yuan-class submarine used by the People’s Army Liberation Navy (PLAN).
Like its PLAN counterpart, the S26 was offered with a Sterling AIP system. In general, AIP systems allow conventional submarines to operate underwater without surfacing for oxygen (snorkeling) for extended periods of time, possibly weeks at a time. The PN’s three Agosta 90B submarines utilize the French MESMA AIP system to achieve similar capabilities.
The PN’s Hangor-class submarine has a displacement of 2,800 tons, length of 76 m, a cruising speed of 10 knots, and draught of 6.2 m. It is equipped with six torpedo tubes, which can deploy heavyweight torpedoes (HWT) and anti-ship cruising missiles (ASCM).
Pakistan ordered eight S26P submarines from China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Company Ltd (CSOC) in 2015. Under the contract, four of the boats were to be built by Karachi Shipyards and Engineering Works (KSEW) through the transfer of technology and material kits from CSOC.
KSEW cut the steel of its first Hangor-class submarine in December 2021 and laid the keel for its second boat in February 2024. Originally, the PN was to receive all eight boats by 2028, but delays stemming from both the pandemic and supply-side restrictions from Germany (specifically its block on re-selling MTU diesel engines to China) pushed the procurement timelines farther.
That said, at the start of 2025, the PN Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Admiral Naveed Ashraf, revealed that the PN will receive its first Hangor-class submarine “very soon,” but did not offer a timeline or a clear date as to when. However, considering how PNS/M Hangor has been undergoing its sea trials since mid-2024, its induction into the PN fleet could be a matter of months. Overall, one can expect the PN to receive its first four Chinese-built boats in several years, but the KSEW-built versions may come later than anticipated, potentially by the early 2030s, due to delays.
Once all eight boats are inducted, the PN will operate a fleet of at least 11 AIP-equipped submarines, giving it one of the largest subsurface fleets of this nature in Asia. However, this would be the baseline as the PN will induct additional AIP-equipped submarines through its forthcoming shallow water attack submarine (SWATS) program and a future original submarine program.