The Shipyard presents its Unmanned Armed Surface Vehicle (ULAQ) developed with Meteksan Savunma. Roketsan"s L-Umtas and Cirit missiles are integrated into the vehicle. The unmanned allows the user to patrol the determined area. Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, Emir of Qatar, visited the expo and ARES Shipyard stand. He is briefed about the Coast Guard Vessels Program for Qatar and ULAQ Series Unmanned Systems by Kerim Kalafatoglu, ARES Chairman.
The unmanned surface vessel can be developed in different versions to support a range of missions such as reconnaissance, surveillance and intelligence, asymmetric warfare, anti-surface warfare (ASuW), anti-submarine warfare (ASW), strategic facility security, and armed escort and force protection.
The combat vessel can conduct joint operations with complementary forces such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), armed UAVs, and tactical UAVs.
The ULAQ development began in 2018 and its research and concept studies were carried out between 2018 and 2019. The production process of the prototype with domestic capabilities began in 2019, followed by its production in June 2020.
Ares Shipyard is responsible for the design, construction, and outfitting activities of the vessel, while its partner Meteksan performed the integration of remote command, autonomous, data link, and data transfer systems.
The Ulaq is at sea trials now.
