Pakistan’s Naval Renaissance: A New Defense Policy to Counter the Indian Ocean Rivalry

Pakistan is quietly but decisively re-centering its defense policy on sea power. In 2025, that “naval renaissance” is visible in new submarines and surface combatants arriving in the fleet, multinational exercises expanding in scope, and maritime aviation being rebuilt. The driver is clear: an Indian Ocean that is more crowded, more contested, and shaped by India’s rapid naval expansion and the wider Sino-Indian rivalry.

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Submarines at the Core

Islamabad’s most consequential bet is beneath the waves. Under a flagship program with China, the Pakistan Navy (PN) is acquiring eight Hangor-class air-independent propulsion submarines, four built in China and four in Karachi with technology transfer. The first unit was launched in April 2024; in March 2025 Chinese state media reported the second launch, underscoring that the program has moved from paperwork to steel and sea. For Pakistan, the Hangor line is about restoring a credible sea-denial posture and complicating Indian ship movements along the Makran coast and into the Arabian Sea.

This push is unfolding as India, too, accelerates under-sea warfare. New Delhi commissioned fresh surface combatants and pushed ahead on new submarine projects this year, with a German-Indian joint venture emerging as the sole contender for a multibillion-dollar conventional submarine tender that features AIP. The trajectory on both sides points to a more contested underwater domain across Pakistan’s sea approaches.

A New Surface Mix: Frigates, Corvettes and Patrol Ships

On the surface, the fleet recapitalization that began before the pandemic is maturing. All four Chinese-built Type 054A/P (Tughril-class) multi-mission frigates are in commission, giving the PN modern area-defense and anti-submarine capability in numbers. These ships now form the backbone of tasking from the Gulf of Oman into the central Arabian Sea.

In parallel, the Turkish-Pakistani MILGEM program is nearing its final deliveries. The Babur-class corvettes, two built in Türkiye and two at Karachi Shipyard, began entering service from 2023; program updates and shipyard reporting indicate the remaining ships are completing and on trials through 2025, with the future PNS Khaibar recording sea trials this spring. Together, the four-ship class gives the PN a modern, smaller combatant optimized for patrol, escort and anti-submarine roles in the North Arabian Sea.

Below the frigate-corvette tier, the navy has kept building presence and maritime security capacity with new offshore patrol vessels. In April 2025, the PN inducted PNS Yamama, its fourth Damen-built OPV, at Jinnah Naval Base, Ormara, expanding hulls available for exclusive economic zone protection, interdiction and relief missions without tying up high-end combatants.

Maritime Aviation: From P-3C to ‘Sea Sultan’

Pakistan is also recapitalizing long-range maritime patrol and anti-submarine aviation. The “Sea Sultan” program, built around Embraer Lineage 1000 airframes with mission systems led by Leonardo and Paramount, aims to replace tired P-3C Orions with a modern, lower-maintenance platform. Industry and regional defense reporting place first deliveries in 2026, but through 2025 the program has remained active, with PN and industry reaffirming timelines and the concept of operations. For a navy betting on submarines and counter-submarine warfare, getting Sea Sultan right is pivotal.

Exercises and Signaling

The fleet’s growth has been paired with broader diplomacy at sea. AMAN-2025, the biennial multinational exercise hosted by Pakistan, ran in Karachi and the Arabian Sea from 7–11 February, with about 60 participating countries and a fleet review witnessed by the army chief. The message, cooperation on sea-lane security, counter-piracy and interoperability, was aimed as much at reassuring partners about stability in Pakistan’s waters as at demonstrating new platforms.

The Indian Ocean Rivalry is Intensifying

Across the border, India’s navy is in a sustained build-out cycle, commissioning major surface units and submarines, and advancing new AIP-equipped conventional subs, backed by a push for domestic shipbuilding. Senior Indian officials have tied these moves to asserting control in the Indian Ocean amid Chinese naval forays. For Pakistan, that translates into more frequent presence of Indian carrier groups, more anti-submarine coverage in chokepoints, and a requirement to keep credible deterrence at sea.

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Strategic Implications and Limits

The immediate effect of Pakistan’s naval modernization is to strengthen sea denial and widen operational choices in a crisis. Hangor-class submarines, in particular, raise the cost of any Indian attempt to operate freely near Pakistan’s coast or interdict traffic linked to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Modern frigates and corvettes, paired with fresh maritime patrol aircraft, improve the navy’s ability to protect offshore infrastructure, fishing grounds and sea lines.

While India fields a larger fleet and a more extensive shipbuilding base, and continues to expand its anti-submarine capabilities with new shallow-water craft and advanced air assets, Pakistan’s approach has been a quieter, more calculated success. The Pakistan Navy’s modernization is less about matching numbers and more about crafting an agile, asymmetric force that can punch above its weight. By focusing on precision capabilities, strategic positioning, and integration of new technologies, the PN has quietly reshaped the maritime equation. In a region where size often dominates the headlines, Pakistan’s silent, skill-driven build-up is steadily ensuring that the balance of power at sea remains far from one-sided.

Infrastructure, Security and the Coastline

All of this unfolds along a vulnerable coastline. Ormara’s Jinnah Naval Base has become a focal point for induction and operations on the western seaboard, but it sits in a region where climate stress and local insecurity complicate maritime development. Reporting this year captured both the climate-driven strains in nearby Gwadar and fresh pledges by Islamabad and Beijing to press ahead with port and energy cooperation. Securing those projects, and the people around them, remains a core, and nontrivial, naval mission.

Concluding: The Bottom Line

Pakistan’s 2025 naval posture is more capable and more confident than it was even three years ago. The fleet now fields modern frigates in numbers, corvettes are arriving, a fourth OPV is on patrol, a new generation of submarines is in the water, and maritime aviation is on the cusp of renewal. The policy logic is coherent: deter at sea, defend the coastline and economic arteries, and keep the Arabian Sea from becoming a one-sided arena. Whether that amounts to a lasting “naval renaissance” will turn on execution, steady budgets, on-time submarines and aircraft, and relentless training, under the shadow of an Indian Navy that shows no sign of slowing down.