By Admin 
A big program took place at the Naval Shipyard in Istanbul, the capital of Turkey, in which the second Milgem class corvette warship PNS Khyber was handed over to the Pakistan Navy. This ship will further strengthen the Pakistani Navy. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presided over the ceremony on 20 December 2025, while Pakistan Navy Chief Admiral Naved Ashraf was also present.
PNS Khyber is part of Turkey’s Milgem project.
This is the second ship of the PNS Khyber Babur class, which is part of Turkey’s Milgem project. Pakistan has received the first ship PNS Babar in May 2024. According to the report of Defense Security Asia, in 2018, an agreement for four ships was signed between Pakistan and Turkish company ASFAT. The total value of this agreement is 1.5 billion dollars (about Rs 13.44 thousand crores). That means the price of one Corvette is Rs 3.36 thousand crores.
Of these, two ships were built in Turkey, while the remaining two, PNS Bedar (in 2026) and PNS Tariq (in 2027), are being built at Karachi Shipyard with Turkish technical help. This deal also includes technology transfer, which will enable Pakistan to develop the capability to build such ships itself.
What are the special features of PNS Khyber?
According to the report of Global Defense News-
- Length: about 108 meters
- Weight(Displacement): about 3,000 tons
- Maximum Speed: More than 26 knots (about 50 km/h)
- Range: About 3,500 nautical miles (about 6,500 km)
- Walking Ability: 15 days non stop
- Propulsion: Two diesel engines and one gas turbine (CODAG system)
Apart from this, PNS Khyber is also equipped with hangar and flight deck for helicopters, advanced radar, sonar and combat management system. This ship is highly capable of surface warfare (fighting on the sea), anti-submarine warfare (combating submarines) and air defense.
What weapons are fitted with PNS Khyber?
It has many weapons including a large 76 mm cannon, multiple cruise missiles to attack ships and land, the ability to shoot down air defense missiles with 12 cell Vertical Launch System (VLS), lightweight torpedoes and 35 mm and 25 mm close-in weapon systems.
Does India need to be afraid of this or not?
This ship definitely strengthens the Pakistan Navy. This is a multi-role ship with modern technology, which will increase Pakistan’s presence in the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean. Through Pakistan-Turkey defense partnership, Pakistan is getting new technology, which earlier mainly came from China. This may have some impact on the regional marine balance. But India has no need to fear this. The Indian Navy is very large and modern.
India has two aircraft carriers (INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya), several destroyers, frigates, submarines and missile boats. The numbers, technology and experience of the Indian Navy is much more than that of Pakistan. India is continuously strengthening its navy, such as adding new destroyers and frigates. Experts believe that this ship will increase the defense capability of Pakistan, but there will remain a big gap in comparison to the Indian Navy. India will maintain its strong position in the maritime sector.