Turkey’s Ares Shipyard, Meteksan announce ASW Variant of ULAQ Unmanned Warship

Turkish companies Ares Shipyard and Meteksan have unveiled an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) variant of the ULAQ Unmanned Surface Combat Vehicle (USCV).

“The darkness of the seas is no longer as safe as before! Turkey's First and Only Anti-Submarine Warfare Unmanned Vessel ‘ULAQ ASW DSH’ very soon,” Ares Shipyard tweeted April 23.

ULAQ has been built from advanced composites, has 400 km range, 65 kmph speed, day/night vision capabilities, encrypted communication infrastructure, which can be operated from mobile vehicles and headquarters or from sea platforms such as aircraft carriers or frigates, will be used for missions like intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, surface warfare, asymmetric warfare, escort missions, strategic infrastructure protection.

Design of the prototype vessel was completed in August 2020 and structural build was completed two months later. First AUSV’s missile systems are inclusive of 4 cells of Cirit and 2 of L-UMTAS, supplied by our national missile systems provider ROKETSAN, where the firing tests are planned in the first quarter of 2021.

Along with the missile systems, AUSV will be equipped with different variations of communication and intelligence systems like jamming and electronic warfare systems to correspond diverse operational needs. AUSV will be able to carry out joint operations with complementary forces. Furthermore, AUSV is not only a remotely controlled vehicle but also and more importantly an autonomous vehicle that hosts artificial intelligence.

After the first prototype vessel, other USVs for the operations like surveillance and intelligence, mine counter measures, anti-submarine warfare, fire-fighting, search and rescue missions, will be manufactured.