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Meteksan Defence has successfully completed missile firing tests of its ULAQ Armed Unmanned Surface Vehicle (AUSV) during the Turkish Navy’s Sea Wolf 2021 Naval Exercise.
The ULAQ AUSV, developed by Meteksan and ARES Shipyard, was positioned in the south of Antalya Bay with Turkish Navy’s other manned platforms, was directed from the Mobile Coastal Control Station (MCCS) and transferred to the firing area. The Naval Forces Command and Coast Guard Command platforms also accompanied the firing. After the target was detected by sensors on the ULAQ, the two missiles were fired and directly hit the target.
The President of Defence Industries, Prof. Dr. İsmail Demir, said, “Today, it is obvious that we must have a naval force for the protection of the Blue Homeland and the protection of our rights in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean. In order to provide these the platforms needed by our Naval Forces as the indomitable guardians of the Blue Homeland, equipped with the latest technologies, we will continue to work as the Presidency of Defence Industries in close cooperation with our Ministry of Defense, General Staff, Naval Forces Command, our industry and other relevant institutions. We have reached an indigenousness rate of up to 70 percent in our projects, and we will increase this even more.”
ULAQ is Turkey’s first AUSV and can be operated from mobile land vehicles, command centers, or floating platforms such as aircraft carriers and frigates.
The ULAQ is specifically designed for missions such as Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), surface warfare, asymmetric warfare, armed escort and force protection, and critical facility security.
Equipped with four CIRIT and two L-UMTAS Missile Systems provided by Turkey’s missile systems manufacturer ROKETSAN, the ULAQ AUSV can also be configured with different types of payloads such as extended range surface-to-surface, surface-to-ground, surface-to-air missiles, electronic warfare, jamming, and different communication and intelligence systems.
The ULAQ AUSV has the ability to operate with other AUSVs with equal or different structure, and conduct joint operations with UAVs, AUAVs, TUAVs and manned aircraft.
With artificial intelligence features, the ULAQ can operate as a remotely controlled unmanned vehicle and an autonomous vessel with superior capabilities.
The development of this AUSV is the first phase of the project initiated by ARES Shipyard and Meteksan Defence, with future production plans involving the development of variants for intelligence and electronic warfare, mine hunting, anti-submarine warfare, firefighting and humanitarian aid/evacuation.
