Future Pakistan Navy Corvette Starts Sea Trials

The second MILGEM Babur-class corvette being built in Turkiye for the Pakistan Navy, the future PNS Khaibar, has begun her sea trials.

The vessel has been constructed for the Pakistan Naval Forces Command at the Istanbul Naval Shipyard, with ASFAT, Turkiye’s Military Factory and Shipyard Management Corporation, as the main contractor.

She is the second of four such ships being built for the Pakistan MİLGEM project; the first, PNS Babur, has already been delivered to the Pakistan Navy and was commissioned into active service in September 2023.

Images of Khaibar on her maiden voyage to begin the "Sea Acceptance Test Process" have been circulated recently on social media.

She has also been pictured alongside the future TCG Akhisar, a Hisar-class offshore patrol vessel destined for the Turkish Navy, which continues to undergo her own sea trials.

The third and fourth Babur-class corvettes, Badr and Tariq, are being built in Pakistan at the Karachi Shipyard and Engineering Works. Both these vessels have also already been launched.

The multipurpose corvettes are just under 110 metres long and displace 3,000 tons; they have been designed to conduct a range of missions, including reconnaissance, surveillance, anti-submarine warfare, and surface and air warfare.