It does appear that PN will be looking to develop a SAM with assistance (likely turkey or china) given that there has been talk of an indigenous VLS unit being developed. That being said they need to have some foresight regarding force multipliers and ultimately try for 2 types of SAMs. A medium ranged, quad-packed sam (ideally in the 50-70km range) and a lomg range high altitude SAM with 250-300km range both of which need land and naval applications. Its a large task but Pakistans military has never given SAMs the proper respect and attention and now they are way behind the game on naval amd land front.
Of the service arms, I think the PN is the most 'even keel' (no pun intended).
The PA seems to move slow (every program is a massive investment due to size) and, in some cases, might adopt solutions that aren't the latest or greatest (e.g., SALH HQ-16 instead of a ARH SAM).
The PAF is more ambitious and, as of late, can swing between the extremes. Case in point, the PAF CAS said that their current plan for Project Azm is to have a twin-engine fighter with super cruise, but they also want to develop something with the goal of ending imports once and for all. It's high risk, high reward.
The PN is proving that it's open to ideas, but it also wants to expedite timelines and avoid excessive risk. In this case, the Hangor SSP, Type 054A/P FFG, JN FFG, and Damen Corvettes are all based on proven platforms, but if possible or realistic, the PN asked for future-leaning capabilities.
With the Type 054A/P, we reportedly have supersonic-cruising ASCMs. With the JN FFG, we evidently have a VLS system that will carry a MR-SAM in the HHQ-16. Yes, it isn't ideal, but there's nothing to stop the PN from re-fitting the JN FFG and 054A/P with a next-gen MR/LR quad-packable SAM should one
become accessible in the future.
Had the PN taken the PA way, then it'd just be the MILGEM Ada without VLS, and we would really have no shot at improving it. Had the PN taken the PAF way, then we wouldn't have either 054A/P or JN FFGs in the pipeline, but a vague plan about 8 next-gen frigates and rumours of interest in the Turkish I-Class.
Instead, the JN FFG gives us something to work with by being good when it launches (with the HQ-16), with the potential to be much, much better 10-15 years later via a quad-pack SM-2/3-like SAM if and when available.
