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Pakistan’s New Hovercrafts Redefine Speed and Reach in Coastal Defenses.
Pakistan has inducted three 2400 TD hovercraft into its Marines, enhancing operational reach across the challenging creek zones of southern Sindh. The move reflects a broader modernization drive aimed at improving rapid-response and amphibious capabilities in littoral environments.
On October 26, 2025, Pakistan’s Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf reviewed combat readiness at forward posts in the Creeks Area, where three 2400 TD hovercraft were formally inducted into the Pakistan Marines. The development, shared by the Pakistan Navy’s official channels, underscores a push to modernize littoral capabilities in terrain where conventional boats struggle. It is relevant for coastal security and amphibious mobility along the country’s mangrove-lined estuaries and tidal flats, where rapid insertion and extraction are operationally decisive.
The 2400 TD hovercraft is a high-speed, amphibious platform capable of carrying troops and cargo across water, mud, and sand, designed for rapid-response and shallow-water operations (Picture Source: Pakistan Navy)
The 2400 TD is a British-engineered hovercraft class developed by Griffon Hoverwork, purpose-built to navigate shallow waters, mudflats, sandbars, and marshes by gliding on an air cushion that significantly reduces draft and wake. For Pakistan, these platforms offer a tailored solution to a persistent operational challenge: maintaining patrols, conducting interdiction, supporting logistics, and enabling casualty evacuation across the Sir Creek region and surrounding littoral zones, where shifting channels and unstable terrain routinely hinder conventional hull-based vessels. The induction aligns with the Navy’s emphasis on protecting sea lines of communication and strengthening coastal defense posture, while giving the Marines a toolset tailored to the geometry and hydrology of the Indus delta.
Operationally, the 2400 TD lineage has a well-documented service history with the United Kingdom’s Royal Marines and other users; the three craft inducted by Pakistan were previously operated by the Royal Marines and transferred following a UK disposal process managed by Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S). After decommissioning in 2021, the platforms underwent refurbishment in 2022 by UK industry before being delivered to Pakistan in 2025. This trajectory, from front-line UK service to refurbishment and reinduction abroad, compresses development risk for Pakistan by leveraging a proven design with known logistics footprints and training pipelines.
In performance terms, the Griffon 2400TD indicates a compact landing craft air-cushion (LCAC) roughly 12–13 meters long with speeds reported around the mid-30-knot range, carrying a section-sized element or approximately 2–2.5 tonnes of cargo, depending on fit-out and conditions. Compared with rigid-hull inflatable boats or shallow-draft patrol craft, a hovercraft’s key advantage is terrain agnosticism: it can slide from water to mud to sand without grounding, and it produces minimal wake, reducing erosion and signature in narrow creeks. Against larger LCACs such as US Navy LCAC/SSC or the Zubr-class, the 2400 TD trades payload for agility, lower acquisition and sustainment costs, and the ability to operate in confined, vegetated littorals where big air-cushion vessels cannot realistically maneuver. These trade-offs make the 2400 TD a better fit for persistent patrol, quick reaction, and small-unit movement in the Creeks, rather than heavy amphibious lift.
Strategically, the induction strengthens Pakistan’s capacity for maritime domain awareness and rapid response along one of its most complex coastal sectors. In geostrategic terms, improved mobility in the Indus delta enhances law-enforcement support, anti-smuggling and counter-infiltration patrols, environmental protection response, and resilience of coastal installations. Militarily, the ability to shift squads, sensors, and light cargo across mudflats and mangroves without relying on tidal windows complicates an adversary’s planning calculus, shortens reaction times, and widens the set of viable insertion points for Marines. At the fleet level, this contributes to layered coastal defense while complementing conventional surface combatants and maritime patrol assets tasked with guarding sea lines of communication in the broader Indian Ocean Region.
Budgetary and contracting details are limited in the public domain. The UK government confirmed the sale of three former Royal Marines hovercraft to Pakistan and noted earlier refurbishment work awarded to a UK contractor; however, financial terms were not disclosed. Reporting around the transfer describes the Pakistani units as based on the Griffon 2400TD variant, which aligns with images and open sources, but no official unit price has been published.
Admiral Naveed Ashraf’s visit and the simultaneous induction of three 2400 TD hovercraft signal a concrete step in tailoring Pakistan Navy and Marines capabilities to their operating environment. By fielding craft that erase the seam between land and sea in the Creeks, the service improves patrol endurance, access and responsiveness across challenging littoral terrain, turning geography from a constraint into an advantage and reinforcing the stated intent to safeguard coastal security and national maritime interests.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.