Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The military has sped up the implementation of its defence development plan, under which the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) will purchase four new helicopters from Italy, while the Pakistan Navy will get state-of-the-art submarines from China, defence sources told Daily Times.

Sources said that after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s approval, the PAF has signed an agreement with an Italian company “Leonardo”, under which the PAF will purchase four AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters.

These helicopters will be used for search and rescue activities, but these are equipped with latest technology. The Italian company will provide these four helicopters in 18 months to Pakistan in two phases, sources said.

The PAF will spend $75 million on these helicopters, an amount already approved by the federal government, sources said.

On the other hand, the Pakistan Navy will get eight latest submarines from China under a separate deal. Sources told this scribe that it would be a 10-year-long strategic project – starting in 2018. A parliamentary committee on defence has already been given a detail briefing on this development.

According to sources, the Chinese company will be responsible for lifetime maintenance of these submarines, while there will be options of inducting new technologies in these watercraft as well.

Defence officials told the National Assembly’s Standing Committee that they could not shut their eyes on developments taking place in the neighbouring countries. They told the committee members that security and strong defence was a must for the country, which was why they were focusing on that front.

The chief project director of the submarines gave a detailed presentation on the development, future planning and challenges to the Pakistan Navy.

He said that four of the submarines would be constructed in China and be handed over to the Pakistan Navy in mid of 2022-23, while the other four would be constructed in Pakistan at the Karachi Shipyard, and inducted in the naval fleet by 2028.

The committee members expressed satisfaction over the development made by the navy for securing the coastal areas of Pakistan.

They were of the view that responsibilities of the Pakistan Navy had further increased in connection with the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.