The program was valued at approximately $950 million — a figure that encapsulates not only three submarines but a deliberate transfer of technology that reshaped Pakistan’s naval industry.
Origins and the $950 million Agosta 90B contract
In September 1994 the Ministry of Defence Production signed a contract with DCN International (now Naval Group) for three Agosta 90B submarines, a deal reported at approximately $950 million and including a phased transfer of technology (ToT) to Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works (KSEW). The decision, taken during Benazir Bhutto’s second government, favoured the French design over competing offers from Germany, Sweden and Russia in part because of the ToT provision and KSEW’s capacity to absorb construction work.
Under the program, PNS/M Khalid (S137) was built entirely in Cherbourg and commissioned in 1999; PNS/M Saad (S138) was assembled at KSEW and commissioned in December 2003; and PNS/M Hamza (S139) — assembled at KSEW with the highest domestic-content share — was commissioned in September 2008. Work on Hamza was interrupted after the May 2002 Karachi bombing that killed 11 French DCN engineers and technicians providing on-site assistance.
Design, armament and endurance of the Khalid-class
The Khalid-class derives from the Agosta 70 hull form but with upgraded acoustic discretion, diving capability and combat systems. Published specifications list a surface displacement of about 1,570 tons and a submerged figure around 2,050–2,083 tons; length 76 m, beam 6.8 m and draught 8.2 m. Surfaced speed is around 12 knots and submerged speed 20.5 knots. Range is cited at roughly 10,000 nautical miles at 9 knots, and the class endurance is stated by Pakistan Navy sources as exceeding 60 days — rising to 150 days for PNS/M Hamza with its integrated MESMA AIP module.
Weapons fitted or reported in service include four 533 mm torpedo tubes, MBDA SM.39 Exocet anti-ship missiles (sea-skimming, 50 km range, 165 kg warhead) launched from torpedo tubes, and the Atlas Elektronik DM2A4 SeaHake mod 4 heavyweight torpedo — a fibre-optic wire-guided weapon with a range exceeding 50 km and a speed above 50 knots.
MESMA AIP and PNS/M Hamza’s regional first
PNS/M Hamza was the first Agosta 90B worldwide to be constructed from the outset with the French MESMA (Module d’Énergie Sous-Marine Autonome) air-independent propulsion system, making it the first AIP-equipped submarine built in South Asia. MESMA is a closed-cycle steam-turbine system burning ethanol and liquid oxygen to generate steam-driven electrical power, allowing considerably longer submerged endurance — Naval Technology reported about three times the submerged duration of a conventional diesel-electric submarine.
Pakistan retrofitted the MESMA module to the first two boats, PNS/M Khalid and PNS/M Saad, with DCNS completing those retrofits by December 2011, creating an all-AIP Khalid-class fleet until the later arrival of the Hangor-class with Stirling-cycle AIP.
STM mid-life upgrade and the new sensor suite
To extend service life and modernize combat systems, the Pakistan Navy contracted Turkey’s STM in June 2016 for a $350 million mid-life upgrade (MLU) of the Khalid-class electronic subsystems. STM was chosen over the original OEM and described its bid as “technically and commercially superior.” The MLU replaces the submarine’s sensor and electronic suite while retaining hull and propulsion, and assembled a multinational supplier list:
- Hensoldt Optronics South Africa supplying the OMS-200 optronic mast and SERO 250 periscope with HDTV, laser rangefinder and SWIR;
- Kelvin Hughes providing the SharpEye I‑band pulse‑Doppler radar using gallium nitride (GaN) transistors;
- Aselsan supplying the ARES‑2SC/NS electronic support measures system;
- Atlas Elektronik furnishing the ISUS‑100 sonar suite (EFAS, ETAS, ECAS, multi‑purpose active sonar); and
- Havelsan providing the SEDA combat management integration layer.
STM signed an additional contract in March 2019 to add torpedo countermeasures and acoustic measurement sensors. The pandemic disrupted original delivery timelines; STM had planned sea trials and delivery beginning in 2020, but the current public status of the MLU completion has not been confirmed in the record provided.
Babur 3 SLCM tests and platform attribution
Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) announced a successful Babur 3 submarine-launched cruise missile (SLCM) test on 9 January 2017 from “an underwater, mobile platform,” describing the weapon as providing “a credible second strike capability, augmenting deterrence.” ISPR stated the Babur 3 has a range of 450 km and is the sea-launched variant of the ground-launched Babur 2. ISPR footage and subsequent reporting showed the missile ejects horizontally through torpedo tubes, not from a vertical launch.
As of January 2017 the Khalid-class was the only operational submarine type in service able to host such tests; commentators and analysts assessed the Khalid-class as the test platform. The report notes Pakistan may be moving toward separating conventional and nuclear-capable platforms in future force planning, preserving the Khalid-class in conventional roles.
What this means for the Pakistan Navy, KSEW, and foreign suppliers
Pakistan Navy — The MLU is intended to keep the Khalid-class operational into the mid‑2030s, maintaining a littoral-focused, higher‑speed submarine for EEZ defence, port approaches and training while Hangor-class boats assume blue‑water duties.
KSEW — The Agosta 90B ToT and Hamza’s high domestic content established fabrication and integration experience that underpinned later transfer arrangements, including Hangor-class negotiations.
Foreign suppliers (STM, Hensoldt, Atlas Elektronik, Aselsan, Kelvin Hughes) — The MLU introduced new industrial partnerships into Pakistan’s submarine force, expanding supplier footprints across its surface and subsurface fleets and creating both maintenance dependencies and interoperable capability chains.
The Khalid-class story is not merely one of three boats: it is an industrial pivot. From a $950 million contract to the MESMA‑equipped Hamza, and on through a $350 million MLU, the program stitched foreign suppliers, domestic yards and operational needs into a fleet that Pakistan expects to keep working into the 2030s — even as the Hangor-class assumes broader oceanic duties. Whether hull fatigue, delivery pace of Hangor boats, or the still-unconfirmed MLU completion dates will redefine that timeline remains an immediate operational and industrial question.
