On 31 August the Oliver Hazard Perry –class frigate USS McInerney (FFG-8) was decommissioned from U.S. Navy service and transferred to the Pakistani fleet, where she has been renamed the PNS Alamgir . Originally commissioned in December 1979, the frigate was built by Bath Iron Works in Maine. Armed with a single 76-mm gun, a 20-mm Phalanx close-in weapon system, and two triple Mk-32 antisubmarine torpedo tubes, the frigate was originally equipped with an Mk-13 missile launcher capable of firing Harpoon surface-to-surface missiles and Standard SM-1 surface-to-air missiles. Though the Mk-13 launcher has been removed, the warship’s two on-board helicopters have enabled the vessel to remain a useful multi-purpose asset. Pakistan has not yet announced how it plans to arm its new frigate, but the acquisition of additional Perry -class sister ships is planned. The Alamgir joins several recently acquired warships in Pakistani service, including the new Zulfiquar -class frigates that were ordered from China in 2005.
