VESSEL REVIEW | Babur – Pakistan Navy corvette to take on air defence and surface warfare missions
Aselsan supplied many of the corvette’s combat sensors including fire control and S-band radars, an electro-optical surveillance system, and an infrared search and track system while Havelsan installed a Genesis Advent combat management system. Northrop Grumman provided the INS/GPS and Meteksan installed a hull-mounted sonar capable of extended-duration operations in shallow as well as deep waters. The radars are capable of long-range detection and tracking.
The corvette also incorporates features that reduce the risk of it being detected by hostile radar, sonar, and acoustic sensors and also increase resistance to chemical, biological, radioactive, and nuclear attack as well as shock impact damage. A platform control and monitoring system meanwhile constantly controls and gives warnings to the onboard systems, allowing the ship to operate with a smaller crew complement compared to surface combatants of similar size.
Babur is also equipped with a flight deck and hangar facilities for use by a helicopter and unmanned aerial vehicles. These aircraft will augment the corvette’s own capability to conduct missions such as ASW, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), and search and rescue (SAR).