Cosmos-class submarine
|
Class overview
|
Builders
| Design:
Cos.Mo.S
in
Livorno
,
Italy
Construction and Design:
KS&EW Ltd.
in
Karachi
,
Pakistan
|
Operators
|
Pakistan Navy
|
Preceded by
| SX-404 class
|
Succeeded by
| Dolgorae class
(
South Korea
)
|
Built
| 1993?96
|
Planned
| 3
|
Completed
| 3
|
Active
| 3
|
General characteristics
|
Type
| SDV
/
Midget submarine
|
Displacement
|
- Surfaced:
102 tons
- Submerged:
110 tons
|
Length
| 28 m (91 ft 10 in)
|
Beam
| 2.30 m (7 ft 7 in)
|
Draft
| 5.59 m (18 ft 4 in)
|
Propulsion
| Diesel-electric
|
Speed
|
- Surfaced
: 9
knots
(17 km/h; 10 mph)
- Submerged
: 6.0 knots (11.1 km/h; 6.9 mph)
|
Range
| 2,500 miles (4,000 km)
|
Endurance
| 20 days
|
Test depth
| 110 m (360 ft)
|
Complement
| 14, (6 operations, 2 SEAL Teams)
|
Armament
|
- Torpedo tubes
- Mine laying hooks
|
The
Cosmos-class submarine
, officially Cos.Mo.S MG-110
[1]
locally designated as
X-Craft
,
[2]
are the class of
midget submarines
designed by the
Italian
firm
Cos.Mo.S
, in
Karachi Naval Dockyard
in
Karachi
,
Sindh
,
Pakistan
.
[3]
The Cosmos-class submarines are currently stationed in
PNS Iqbal
and are used as the SDV for the SEAL Teams of the
Navy Special Service Group
, since 1993.
[3]
Despite classified as submarine by its builder in Karachi, the Cosmos, nonetheless, fall under the responsibility of the
Naval Strategic Forces Command
for planning development while the Commander of the Coastal Areas remains in charge for the operational deployments only.
[2]
Design overview
[
edit
]
Design was initially conceived in 1983?85 in
Italy
for the
COMSUBIN
(special forces) of the
Marina Militare
(Italian Navy), which was already operating a large fleet of midget class submarines in their inventory.
: 270?271
[4]
The Italian firm, Cosmos, had initially
designed
for the eight submarines, along with the designs of three
Dolgorae-class submarine
for the
Republic of Korea Navy
in 1983.
: 84
[5]
The Cosmos-class submarines are 28 m (91 ft 10 in)
: 270
[4]
(sources vary with
GlobalSecurity.org
noting the length at 27.25 m (89 ft 5 in))
[3]
long, and with one propeller that is powered by a
diesel-electric engine
.
: 270
[4]
The Cosmos are more capable of conducting the operations than their predecessor design, the
SX-404-class
submarine in 1970s.
: 270
[4]
The submarine range is between 1,800 miles (2,897 km) at 6.0
knots
(11.1 km/h; 6.9 mph) in diving capability and has an endurance of up to twenty days in sea.
: 86?87
[6]
The Cosmos can launch the
Mark 5 torpedo
from the standard 533 mm torpedo tubes according to the research paper published by Massimo Annati in 1996 at the
United States Naval Academy
in the U.S. state of
Maryland
.
: 88
[6]
In 1990, the Pakistan Navy entered in discussion with the
Marina Militare
(Italian Navy) of procuring these submarines in a view of decommissioning the SX-404-class submarines that was bought from Italy in 1970.
: 270
[4]
The three designs of the Cosmos were originally intended for the export to the Republic of Korea Navy in 1983, which was already seeking the Dolgorae design.
: 84
[5]
In 1990s, Pakistan bought the
proprietary designs
and had the engineers from the Italian firm, the Cosmos Spa, to re-design and constructed the Cosmos-class submarines in a joint venture with the KS&EW Ltd. at the
Karachi Naval Dockyard
in
Karachi
,
Sindh
,
Pakistan
.
: 172
[7]
The KS&EW Ltd. received the production license for the Cosmos for export from her manufacturer and the first ship of her class was commissioned in the Navy in 1993.
[3]
Two other submarines were entered in service in 1993 and 1996 respectively.
[3]
The Cosmos serves as the
swimmer delivery vehicle
(SDV) for the
Navy Special Service Group
and were initially under their control until 2005 while stationed at
PNS Iqbal
in Karachi.
[2]
In 2005, the Cosmos control was given to the Commander Submarines (COMSUBS) for the operational deployments but later the control of the submarines were given back to the Navy Special Service Group under Command of the Coastal Areas (COMCOAST) for operational deployment while its engineering and maintenance remains under the
Naval Strategic Forces Command
.
[2]
As of 2019
[update]
, there are three Cosmos-class submarines that are active in the Navy as shown below:
Name
|
Builder
|
Launched
|
Commissioned
|
Decommissioned
|
Status
|
?
|
KS&EW Ltd.
|
|
1993
|
?
|
Active
|
?
|
KS&EW Ltd.
|
|
1993
|
?
|
Active
|
?
|
KS&EW Ltd.
|
1993
|
1996
|
?
|
Active
|
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Sutton, HI.
"www.forbes.com"
.
Pakistan Navy Keeps Silent On Mystery Submarine But New Details Emerge
. Forbes
. Retrieved
18 July
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Submarine Force"
.
www.paknavy.gov.pk
. Navy ISPR
. Retrieved
20 February
2019
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Pike, John.
"Cosmos Class MG110"
.
www.globalsecurity.org
. global security.org
. Retrieved
20 February
2019
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Tunander, Ola (2004).
The Secret War Against Sweden: US and British Submarine Deception in the 1980s
. London, UK: Psychology Press. p. 333.
ISBN
9780714653228
. Retrieved
20 February
2019
.
- ^
a
b
Thornton, W. M. (1996).
Submarine Insignia and Submarine Services of the World
. Pen and Sword. p. 155.
ISBN
9780850525366
. Retrieved
20 February
2019
.
- ^
a
b
Massimo Annati, "Underwater special operations craft", Military technology, no. 3, 1996
- ^
Arnett, Eric H. (1997).
Military Capacity and the Risk of War: China, India, Pakistan, and Iran
. Oxford University Press. p. 346.
ISBN
9780198292814
. Retrieved
20 February
2019
.
External links
[
edit
]
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