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Four out of Eight Yuan Class Submarines will be built in Pakistan

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Pakistan will build four of the eight submarines it plans to purchase from China, potentially speeding up the timeframe for delivery of the class to the Pakistan Navy, according to Rana Tanveer Hussain, minister for defence production.

The minister did not specify when the construction would begin, but said it would be happening soon. A training centre would be set up in Karachi for this purpose. He also did not specify the type of submarines but it was speculated that the deal was for Yuan-class Type-041 diesel-electric submarines equipped with AIP systems.

The eight submarine contract is worth about USD 4 billion to USD 5 billion and is the biggest arms export deal for China.

The Yuan incorporates lessons from the PLAN’s experience with the Kilo. The Yuan incorporates some of the best features of the Song and the Kilo. The Yuan 041 class has a tail with diving planes similar to those of the Type 039G, and a Kilo-style teardrop shaped hull with a raised hump on top. The Yuan has the raised decking/casing of the Kilo, the high freeboard and reserve bouyancy, a similarly-shaped bow (and torpedo tube disposition), but with the sail, propeller layout and stern section of the Song. It has also been suggested that the new submarine may be comparable to the improved variant of the Russian Kilo class (Project 636) in terms of size and general performance.

Precise specifications for the Yuan are unclear, though it is evidently about as large as the 242 foot long Kilo and the 246 foot long Song, that is about 75 meters

The Type 041 has six 533 mm torpedo tubes. These can be used to launch indigenous as well as Russian-made torpedoes.

The Yuan class SSK is integrated with advanced noise reduction techniques including anechoic tiles, passive/active noise reduction, asymmetrical seven-blade skewed propeller, the 039A is expected to be as quiet as other modern diesel-electric submarines, which are very difficult to trac