Pakistan's First Hangor-Class Submarine Fires Anti-Ship Cruise Missile in Maiden Live Weapons Test

The Pakistan Navy announced on 27 September that its newest submarine, PNS Hangor, had carried out its first live weapon firing in the North Arabian Sea, launching an anti-ship cruise missile that struck a designated target, according to Naval News, Janes and Baird Maritime. Naval News reported that the firing took place on 26 September; Baird Maritime said the navy did not give the date.

The navy described the missile as "designed for precision engagement at extended ranges" and said the engagement confirmed that "the submarine's weapon systems were effective and that it was ready for combat," Baird Maritime reported. The Chief of the Naval Staff witnessed the firing and said that "continuous enhancement of subsurface warfare capabilities remains vital for maintaining Pakistan Navy's operational readiness," according to Naval News.

The navy did not disclose the missile type, its range, details of the target or the exact date of the test, Baird Maritime reported. Naval News noted that the class could offer a deep-strike capability if fitted with Babur-3 submarine-launched cruise missiles, a fit that has not been officially confirmed.

PNS Hangor is the lead boat of the Hangor class. According to Janes, the design is derived from China's Type 039A/B Yuan-class diesel-electric attack submarine. Pakistan ordered eight boats from China in April 2015, with four to be built in China and four at Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works, according to Naval News and Baird Maritime. Each submarine is 76 meters long and displaces about 2,800 tons, Naval News reported.

The lead boat was launched in China in 2024, commissioned at Sanya, China, on 30 April 2026 and arrived in Karachi on 11 June 2026, according to Baird Maritime. The second and third boats were launched in 2025, Naval News reported.

Hangor's arrival brought the Pakistan Navy's submarine force to six boats in service, according to GMN's 2026 inventory: five French-designed Agosta-class submarines, comprising the two Agosta-70 boats PNS Hashmat and PNS Hurmat and the three Agosta-90B boats PNS Khalid, PNS Saad and PNS Hamza, plus PNS Hangor. By comparison, India's navy has 19 submarines in service in the same inventory. Both figures feed GMN's ranking of the world's submarine fleets and its India vs Pakistan navy comparison.

The announcement came 12 days after the Pakistan Navy corvette PNS Hunain collided with an Indian Navy warship in the North Arabian Sea on 15 September during Pakistan's SEASPARK-26 exercise, a collision both governments confirmed while giving opposing accounts of it.

Three more Hangor boats, Ghazi, Shushuk and Mangro, are fitting out and four remain on order, according to GMN's inventory. Completing the program would take the force to 13 submarines, with eight Hangors outnumbering the five Agostas. The original delivery plan ran from 2022 to 2028, Naval News reported.