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.
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