Turkey’s 1st unmanned surface combat vehicle ULAQ conducts missile firing

ULAQ
Photo courtesy of Anadolu Agency

Turkey’s first armed unmanned surface vessel, ULAQ, has hit a land target with pinpoint accuracy in its first firing conducted as part of the ongoing Denizkurdu 2021 naval exercise, which was kicked by the Turkish Navy in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea, the Turkish Ministry of Defence announced via Twitter. ULAQ launched indigenous Cirit missile which has 8 kilometers of range within the scope of the test.

The unmanned platform was initially launched at sea in January and began trials. The production of the coast control station, which was developed to control the craft from land, has also been completed.

The test-fires are the last phase of the trials of the vessel. The delivery and mass production of ULAQ will begin in the following weeks.

The developing companies, Ares Shipyard and Meteksan, announced the ASW variant of the Unmanned Surface Combat Vehicle (USCV) on 23 April.

ULAQ Unmanned Surface Vessel:

ULAQ is the name of the Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) product family developed by the strong alliance of ARES Shipyard and Meteksan Defence, which includes different platform types, capabilities and functions.

It bears a pod with four laser-guided Cirit missiles, and two laser-guided long-range anti-tank missile (L-UMTAS) launchers, both developed by another leading Turkish defense company, Roketsan.

It is eliminating human factor either by its remote control capability or by its sophisticated software to execute predetermined autonomous missions. By eliminating the human factor, it surpasses the current platform solutions. ULAQ is a messenger, an envoy from ancient history with his extraordinary skills and extreme warfighting capabilities.

Specifications:

Length: 11 meters
Speed: 35 knots
Range: 215 Nautical Miles
Armament: 4xCirit and 2xUMTAS missiles
Control station: Can be controlled from ground and sea stations

Check out Naval Library App to find out the specifications of ULAQ unmanned surface vehicle.

appstore - naval post
Apple App Store
google play - naval post
Google Play