ISLAMABAD: Türkiye handed over the second MILGEM class ship PNS Khaibar to Pakistan in Istanbul this week, the Pakistani military’s media wing said on Sunday, reflecting a sign of deepening defense relations between the two nations. 

 Pakistan signed a contract in July 2018 to buy four corvettes for its navy with the Turkish state-owned defense firm ASFAT. The MILGEM project is a Turkish warship program that aims to develop multipurpose corvettes and frigates that can be deployed in a range of missions, including reconnaissance, surveillance, early warning, anti-submarine warfare, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air warfare, and amphibious operations.

The first of the four MILGEM corvettes, PNS Babur, was delivered in 2023. Two out of the four MILGEM ships are being constructed in Pakistan. 

“PN MILGEM ships are the most technologically advanced surface platforms,” the Inter-Services Public Relations, the Pakistani military’s media wing, said in a statement. 

“These vessels are equipped with latest command and control systems integrated with modern weapons and advanced sensors.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the ship delivery ceremony at the İstanbul Naval Shipyard Command on Saturday, where he spoke of the cordial ties between Pakistan and Türkiye. 

Following the ceremony, President Erdoğan visited the ship and met Pakistan’s Navy Chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf, the ISPR said. 

“During the visit Turkish President and Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf exchanged views on maritime security in the region and discussed avenues for future PN-TNF joint initiatives,” the military’s media wing said. 

The development takes place as Türkiye and Pakistan move to strengthen their defense relations. Islamabad and Ankara have warmed up to each other after Türkiye’s public condemnation of Indian cross-border strikes in Pakistan earlier this year that sparked a brief military conflict between both sides.