Cash strapped Pakistan forced to acquire second-hand Dutch minehunters

Dutch government has agreed to sell its two retired second-hand Royal Netherlands Navy Tripartite Class Minehunters to Pakistan, a move that confirms that military expenditure of the country is still insufficient due to the worsening economy that greatly affects the strength of its Navy.

A minehunter is a vessel that detects and destroys enemy naval mines. Moreover, these types of ships use imaging sonar to detect and classify targets and then send remotely operated vehicles to inspect and neutralize the threat.

Writing for the Geopolitica.info, Di Valerio Fabbri said that this purchase of second-hand ships was confirmed a few weeks ago by the Pakistani Navy which said that the ship will join their Navy in February 2022.

This mine-hunting ship was jointly developed by the Netherlands, France and Belgium, and is also known as the "Three Partners" class. The cost of research and development was shared by the three countries and are built by each country according to their own needs, according to the Geopolitica.info.

The reports stated that Pakistan already has three Tripartite Class minesweepers, acquired from France. They were later renamed Munsif Class minesweepers. These ships are M163 "Muhafiz", M164 "Mujahid", and M166 "Mansif".

The "three partners" class minehunters serviced from 1984 to 1986 and have had at least 35 years of service life, making it an out-and-out old second-hand ship. Thereby it has the unique advantage of being cheap.

According to the Geopolitica.info, the Pakistani Navy shows that it is satisfied with the mine-sweeping performance of its mine-hunters. Or else, there will be no more two second-hand mine-hunting ships with a service life of more than three decades.

The report further stated that the ship can also be very convenient to change into multi-functional patrol ships just like the Indonesian Navy, expanding its functionality.

"This move also confirms that the military expenditure of the Pakistani Navy is still insufficient, which is related to Pakistan's worsening economy that greatly affects the strength of its Navy, including the armed forces and overall military expenditure," the report concluded.

( With inputs from ANI )

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