Frigate Match-Ups: India vs. Pakistan

Although the US Navy's surface combatant fleet is built around destroyers and cruisers, for most of the world's other navies the principal fighting ship is the frigate. Ships of this type have seen action in the country's numerous wars. An Indian Navy frigate was sunk during the 1971 war, and they would play an important role in any future conflict that took to the high seas.

Pakistan

The core of Pakistan's small fleet of frigates are the PNS Babur/Type 21 class of vessels. These warships are former Royal Navy vessels sold to Pakistan in the 1990s. The class saw action in the 1982 Falklands War. The ships have a maximum speed of 31 knots, and a maximum range of 4,000 miles at cruising speed. The come armed with a 4.5 inch gun, an anti-air package of 4 20mm auto-cannons and 1 4 rail short range anti-air Sea Cat missile launcher, 4 Exocet anti-ship missile launchers, and 2 anti-submarine tubes. The ship proved itself to be a redoubtable general purpose escort in the Falklands, and has been considerably up-gunned since then.

Just coming into service is the replacement for the Babur class: the Sword class, a modification of the Chinese F-22 type frigate. This vessel is slower, but has similar range to the Babur. It has better radar and a more formidable anti-ship missile system in the form of two 4 cell C-803 launchers. Air defense is handled by one 8 cell HQ-7 anti-air missile launcher, the HQ-7 being derived from the French Crotale system, and two 30mm gatling cannons. The ship's gun is a 76mm.

India

India has a record of building their own frigates, rather than importing. The newest of these is the Shivlak class, which entered service in 1997. These are are primarily an anti-submarine platform. The ship has a maximum speed of 30 knots and an excellent radar and sonar suite. The vessels are armed with a 76mm gun, BrahMos cruise missiles, an anti-air package of Israeli Barak anti-air missiles, and a powerful array of anti-submarine weapons, including two helicopters. The lack of point defense guns makes the vessel vulnerable to air and missile attack, but it is meant mostly for sub-chasing.

The Brahmaputra class has a maximum speed of 30 knots and a range of 4,500 miles at cruising speed. These are more general purpose frigates: the have a 76mm gun, the Russian-made Kh-35 anti-ship missile, an anti-air package of four 30mm gatling cannons and three 8 cell Barak launchers, 2 anti-submarine launchers and 2 anti-submarine tubes. The vessel also carries two helicopters.

The Godavari classsare extensively rebuilt Royal Navy Leander class frigates, with 3/4s of the vessel's non-hull components being entirely Indian. They can do 27 knots with a cruising range of 4,500 miles. The sensor suite is adequate, with the anti-air package consisting a twin 57mm cannon, four twin 30mm auto-cannons, and either the Israeli Barak missile or the Russian Gecko missile. The anti-ship weapon is the Russian Styx missile, and the vessel has 2 torpedo tubes and 2 helicopters in the anti-submarine package.

The Nilgris are Leander class vessels that were built in India during the 1970s. The have an adequate sensor suite, a top speed of 27 knots, and a cruising range of 4,000 miles. The weapons consist of two 115mm guns, an anti-air package of four 30mm auto-cannons and two 20mm auto-cannons, and a powerful anti-submarine package of 1 helicopter as well as rockets and torpedoes.

Finally there are the Russian-made Talwar class, which are modifications of the Krivak III class. Capable of 30 knots and a cruising range of 4,500 miles, they have a passable sensor suite. The armament consists of a 100mm gun, an anti-air package consisting of two Kashtan system (a combination of two 30mm gatling cannons and two SA-19 missile launchers) and an 8 tube short-range SA-16 launcher, an 8 cell launcher for the BrahMos cruise missile, an anti-submarine package consisting of one rocket launcher and one torpedo tube, plus one helicopter.

Results: INDIA wins!

There are three tasks for a surface combatant: anti-air, anti-submarine, and anti-surface. In the anti-ship role, both sides have completely adequate weapons, but the Indian Navy will bring with it more flexible BrahMos cruise missiles and Russian-made heavy anti-ship missiles that were designed to penetrate the air defenses of the US Navy and sink carriers. In the anti-air role, some of the Indian ships have Israeli-made missiles and the Kashtan system, while the best that the Pakistanis can boast is a French-based system from the 1980s made by the Chinese. In sub hunting, the Pakistani Navy does not even compare, as none of their frigates even carries helicopters.

Sources: http://indiannavy.nic.in/; http:www.globalsecurity.org; http://www.paknavy.gov.pk/