The Ministry of Defense of Pakistan recently decided to install the European-made Albatross NG ship-to-air missile system on the latest corvettes instead of the previously used Chinese Falcon 80N.
In fact, this is not the first time Pakistan has purchased from Western countries**. In 2015, the country purchased 15 *** and 1000 Hellfire missiles from the United States, but the United States only supplied 3*** and refused to provide the remaining **.
In 2018, Pakistan signed a $1.5 billion military order with Turkey. These actions of Pakistan have attracted the attention of many people, some who believe that Pakistan is "changing its mind" and "abandoning" China.
You must know that many of Pakistan's military ** came from China before, and my country also provided it with many new **. So why did Pakistan suddenly "change its mind"?
What is the truth?
Pakistan is located in the northwest of the South Asian subcontinent, bordered by India to the east, Iran to the west, Afghanistan to the north, and the Arabian Sea to the southwest. This ancient land, once home to the Mughal Empire, has a rich and colorful history.
However, from 1857, the British colonial rule continued for almost a century, only ending in 1947. Although Britain tried to leave the last traces of the "partition of India and Pakistan" through the Mountbatten Plan, it led to long-term tensions between the two countries and the Kashmir issue.
In October 1947, the first "Indo-Pakistani War" broke out, and the issue remains unresolved to this day, and the UN Security Council has not been able to give a satisfactory solution.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan are also strained, with the two countries at odds over issues such as borders and counterterrorism. In order to protect itself, Pakistan chose the United States as an ally in the early days of independence, hoping to protect itself through its great military strength.
However, Pakistan has limited capabilities in its own research and development, so it can only improve its own defense capabilities by purchasing or receiving aid. In 1954, Pakistan and the United States signed a bilateral defense agreement and a mutual defense assistance agreement, and since then, Pakistan has maintained friendly relations with the United States.
In order to contain China's rise, the United States looked for chess pieces in Asia to contain China, and finally chose India and abandoned Pakistan. In the second Indo-Pakistani conflict, the United States abandoned the defense agreement with Pakistan and suspended military aid, which changed Pakistan's attitude towards the United States.
At a critical moment, Pakistan decided to seek help from China, but did not hold out much hope. Although China is poor and white, it has just won a complete victory in the war of self-defense border against India, and it has the strength to help Pakistan defeat its mortal enemy.
However, China's relations with Pakistan are not very close, and the relationship between China and the United States is not good, and the United States has also suppressed Pakistan.
When Pakistan was in deep trouble, China reached out, not only providing material support, but also transferring tanks from front-line troops. And the United States abandoned its teammates at a critical time.
China's generosity stands in stark contrast to the actions of the United States. Pakistanis have a standard to measure. In the third Indo-Pakistani war, Pakistan was again in danger.
The United States refused to provide military **, while India had advanced equipment provided by the Soviet Union. The Pakistani leadership once again turned to China for help, which, despite its own difficulties, nevertheless provided Pakistan with **.
Pakistan is deeply grateful for China's assistance on two occasions, and relations between the two countries have warmed up rapidly. However, India's first nuclear test has made Pakistan more aware of its dangerous situation.
Pakistan decided to develop a nuclear ** to deter the enemy. As a result, the United States announced that it would stop its aid to Pakistan, leading to a cold relationship between the two countries. China, on the other hand, has become Pakistan's "all-weather strategic partner", and the relationship between the two countries has become closer.
China is a staunch ally of Pakistan, affectionately known as the "Pakistan Railway".
Since the 70s, China and Pakistan have carried out in-depth military cooperation. Pakistan has become an important arms buyer in China, and it is also our technology transfer country, with a large number of first-class equipment independently developed by China, such as J-6 fighters, Type 59 tanks, J-5III attack aircraft, J-7 fighters and so on.
And China not only provides Pakistan with first-class equipment, but also grants its core technology to guide its independent research and development. By the end of the 20th century, the two countries jointly invested in the development of the all-weather multi-role fighter FC-1, also known as the "Thunder" fighter.
This is the first time that China has authorized a fighter produced abroad in the form of exporting complete aircraft technology, and it is also a symbol of Sino-Pakistani friendship. In terms of military strength, Pakistan has received strong support from our country.
In addition to this, our country has also assisted good friends in terms of infrastructure, economy, etc., and has assisted Pakistan many times, but the country has not been ungrateful. In Pakistan's textbooks, the story of how China helped Pakistan is written into the textbooks, educating the younger generation to be grateful; Chinese go to Pakistan, get off the plane with a special channel for Chinese, no need to crowd with people from other countries; Locals will warmly welcome them and invite them back to their homes for dinner, and some restaurants will exempt Chinese; Some scenic spots do not charge Chinese tickets and so on.
"Pakistan Railway" is synonymous with friendship between China and Pakistan. Pakistan once did its best to deliver tents to support the disaster area when it was in Wenchuan**, China, and Musharraf, who was Pakistan** at the time, also personally expressed his condolences to the Chinese.
At the beginning of 2020, when the new crown epidemic broke out in Wuhan, China, Pakistan quickly raised all the epidemic prevention materials, believing that the great Chinese nation could tide over the difficulties.
However, when the "Pakistani Railway" purchased military **, why did it not continue to buy Chinese missiles, but chose the products of Western countries? This does not mean that the "Pakistani Railway" has changed its mind, but that the military products of other countries are more suitable for their needs.
Just like when buyers are shopping, they will shop around and choose the most suitable product for them. For Pakistan, the Albatross NG ship-to-air missile system is more in line with their needs than the Falcon 80N.
Although Pakistan had made it clear that it would equip it with Chinese missile systems, they ultimately opted for European products.
The Albatross NG ship-to-air missile system is capable of all-weather ship-based process point defense against low-altitude aircraft and sea-skimming anti-ship missiles, with a reaction time of less than 8 seconds and a range of 05 km to 15 km.
The missile system has been in service with the ships of the Italian Navy for many years and carries the Viper missile. Pakistan purchased the system in order to strengthen the air defense of its frigates in response to the threat from the Indian Navy.
Pakistan has purchased four Milgem-class corvettes in the first two years, mainly for air defense, patrol and anti-submarine, capable of dealing with medium and short-range surface ships, fully automated, capable of firing 120 missiles a minute, and with a maximum range of 16 kilometers.
However, although China's "Falcon 80N" ship-to-air missile system has a longer range, since the frigates purchased by Pakistan are produced by the European country Turkey, the "Albatross NG" ship-to-air missile system has more advantages in terms of compatibility.
Therefore, if Pakistan chooses to buy Chinese anti-aircraft missile systems, it will need to buy Chinese-developed ships, which will lead to an additional amount of money for Pakistan, which will be a heavy burden on Pakistan's economy.
The advantage of the Albatross NG ship-to-air missile system is that it can carry 64 missiles at a time, compared to China's ship-to-air missile system that can only carry 16 missiles, because China's air defense missile system launcher has not yet achieved the ability of "one pit and four bombs".
In the same eight-cell vertical launch system, the Albatross NG ship-to-air missile system needs only one launch to complete the task, while the Falcon 80N ship-to-air missile system requires four launches.
*The more times you use it, the greater the loss and cost. On the battlefield, time is of the essence, the more interceptor missiles launched at one time, the greater the number of targets intercepted, and the greater the probability of successful interception, which will reduce the number of shells falling in your own area, and your own ** and losses will be reduced accordingly.
Therefore, the Albatross NG ship-to-air missile system is the best option for Pakistani frigates. Pakistan has the right to choose to buy anti-aircraft missile systems developed in Europe, and China's friendly relations will not be affected by this.
The decades-old friendship between China and Pakistan will not be cracked over trivial matters.
This incident reflects the shortcomings of our air defense system, and we should accelerate the development of a compact air defense missile system in order to achieve it"Four bullets in one pit"to increase its combat capability and international competitiveness.
A good air defense missile system can not only improve the military, but also help self-protection. With the achievements of our country in the military field, we believe that in the near future, the air defense missile system independently developed by our country will also be realized"Four bullets in one pit", and even launched more than 64 pieces.
Thank you for your attention, welcome everyone to leave a message in the comment area to discuss, see you in the next issue!