PNS Saif (F253)

PNS Saif (FFG-253) is the F-22P Zulfiquar-class guided missile frigate currently in active service with the Pakistan Navy since her commission in 2010.

For other ships with the same name, see PNS Saif.

The PNS Saif (FFG-253), a F-22P Zulfiquar-class frigate anchored in the Manila South Harbor in the Philippines in 2017.
History
Pakistan
Name:	PNS Saif
Namesake:	Saif (Lit. Scimitar)
Builder:	Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard Co. in China
Laid down:	4 November 2008
Launched:	28 May 2009
Commissioned:	19 September 2010
In service:	2010–present
Homeport:	Karachi Naval Base
Status:	In active service
General characteristics
Class and type:	F-22P Zulfiquar-class frigate
Displacement:	2,500 tonnes (standard)[1] 3,144 tonnes (full load)
Length:	123.2 m (404 ft 2 in)
Beam:	13.8 m (45 ft 3 in)
Draught:	3.76 m (12 ft 4 in)
Propulsion:	CODAD (Combined Diesel and Diesel) 2 × Tognum MTU 12V 1163 TB 83 at 10.5 MW 2 × MTU cruise diesels at 6.6 MW
Speed:	29 kn (54 km/h) maximum
Range:	4,000 nmi (7,400 km)
Complement:	202, 14 officers and 188 enlists.
Sensors and processing systems:	SUR 17 air surveillance radar SR-60 air/surface search radar KH 2007 navigation radar Type 347 CIWS fire-control radar CIWS electro-optical director Radar warning receiver suite
Electronic warfare & decoys:	RWD-8 intercept, NJ8I-3 jammer Decoy flare, chaff launchers
Armament:	Guns: 1 × 76.2 mm calibre AK–176M main gun Type 730B CIWS (2 × 30 mm 7-barrel Gatling guns) Missiles: 1 × 8-cell FM-90N SAM launcher 2 × 4-cell C-802 Eagle SSM launchers 2 × 4-cell Zarb cruise missile Other: 2 × 3-cell ET-52C torpedo launchers 2 × 6-cell RDC-32 anti-submarine rockets
Aircraft carried:	1 × Harbin Z-9EC ASW helicopter
Aviation facilities:	Flight deck and enclosed hangar

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) of the Pakistan's military, Saif is identified as the "front line warship" of the Pakistan Navy.[2]

Operational history

Saif was constructed and built in China by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard Co. where her keel laying was performed.[3] Saif was subjected to the extensive sea trials conducted by the Pakistan Navy in China under Captain Zubair Shafiq on June-July of 2010, and was acquired on 9 November 2010.[4]

On 19 September 2010, Saif was commissioned into the military services of the Pakistan Navy with Adm. Noman Bashir overseeing her commissioning ceremony in China.[5] She is the second warship to have a namesake of Saif, which is a scimitar, and her commissioning ended the construction phase of the project in China.[6]

Gallery

• 
  The side of PNS Saif anchored in Manila South Harbor, Philippines in 2017
• 
  The FM-90N SAM system installed in Saif
• 
  The 4-cell C-802 Eagle Strike guided missiles installed in Saif
• 
  The C-802 "Eagle" SSM system installed in Saif
• 
  The ET-52C torpedo tube launchers
• 
  The 76.2 mm gun mounted on Zulfiqar as main naval artillery

References

1. F 2 2 P Frigate Archived 2009-06-02 at the Wayback Machine
2. "First Ever Deployment of Pakistan Navy Ship Under Pakistan Navy's Regional Maritime Security Patrol (RMSP) Initiative in Gulf of Aden & Southern Red Sea Region". www.ispr.gov.pk. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
3. "Pakistan CNS commissions of 3rd F-22 P Frigate". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
4. "Ministry of Defence Pakistan Navy" (PDF). Naval Radio. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
5. "Pakistan Commissions Third F-22P Frigate". Naval Technology. 19 September 2010. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
6. "Third F22P frigate inducted in naval fleet". DAWN.COM. 16 September 2010. Retrieved 17 November 2019.