Turkey orders ULAQ naval drone from shipyard Ares

ANKARA, Turkey — Ares has signed a contract with the Turkish government to provide the Navy’s first armed unmanned surface vehicle , the local shipyard announced last week.

“We signed the contract for ULAQ ASuW [anti-surface warfare] & ASW [anti-submarine warfare] with Defence Industry Agency for the needs of Turkish Navy,” Ares tweeted Dec. 27 , referring to the SSB agency.

Ares’ local partner , Meteksan, is another privately owned defense technologies firm.

Ares and SSB officials declined to comment on the contract value and order quantity.

However, an SSB official told Defense News that the ULAQ order is in the “dozens.” Speaking on the condition of anonymity, as he was not authorized to talk to the media, the official noted the unit price is a “few million U.S. dollars, depending on the configuration.”

The ULAQ passed acceptance tests in 2022 and is inching toward delivery to the Navy.

In December, SSB chief Ismail Demir announced the ULAQ had enhanced operability with drones and other unmanned platforms for enhanced naval operations. He said the drone was now equipped with a new, locally built propulsion system for faster cruising.

Demir tweeted that Turkey is “equipping ULAQ armed USV with new capabilities, making it fully autonomous and developing it so that it can conduct anti-submarine warfare.”

“Our goal is 90% localization with an indigenous engine, 12.7-mm [remote controlled weapon station], torpedo, L-UMTAS missile, command and control software, communication system, camera, and sonar system,” he added.

Ares had previously identified Oman, Qatar, and African and South American countries as potential export customers for the ULAQ.

The system has a 400-kilometer (249-mile) range and can travel up to 65 kph (40 mph). The surface warfare variant is equipped with day and night vision capabilities as well as encrypted communication infrastructure, which can be operated from mobile vehicles and headquarters, or from sea platforms such as aircraft carriers or frigates.

That infrastructure can be used for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, surface warfare, asymmetric warfare, escort missions and strategic infrastructure protection.

The surface warfare variant’s missile systems are inclusive of four cells of Cirit and two of L-UMTAS, manufactured by Turkey’s state-controlled missile-maker Roketsan. The ULAQ will also be equipped with different variations of communication and intelligence technology, like jamming and electronic warfare systems.

The vessel is also expected to be able to carry out joint operations with complementary drones.

Burak Ege Bekdil was the Turkey correspondent for Defense News.

土耳其安卡拉——当地造船厂上周宣布，Ares公司已与土耳其政府签署合同，为土耳其海军提供首艘武装无人水面舰艇。

“我们与国防工业局签署了ULAQ ASuW（反水面作战）和ASW（反潜作战）合同，以满足土耳其海军的需求，”Ares在12月27日发推文说，他指的是SSB机构。

Ares 的当地合作伙伴 Meteksan 是另一家私营国防技术公司。

Ares 和 SSB 的官员拒绝就合同金额和订单数量发表评论。

然而，一位SSB官员告诉《防务新闻》，ULAQ的订单数量为“数十架”。这位官员因未获授权接受媒体采访而要求匿名，他指出，单价为“数百万美元，具体取决于配置”。

ULAQ 于 2022 年通过验收测试，正逐步向海军交付。

去年12月，叙利亚国家安全局局长伊斯梅尔·德米尔宣布，ULAQ无人机已增强与无人机和其他无人平台的协同作战能力，以提升海军作战能力。他表示，该无人机现已配备一套新型的国产推进系统，以提高巡航速度。

德米尔在推特上表示，土耳其正在“为ULAQ武装无人水面艇配备新的能力，使其完全自主，并对其进行开发，使其能够进行反潜作战”。

“我们的目标是实现90%的国产化，包括国产发动机、12.7毫米遥控武器站、鱼雷、L-UMTAS导弹、指挥控制软件、通信系统、摄像头和声呐系统，”他补充道。

Ares 此前已将阿曼、卡塔尔以及非洲和南美国家确定为 ULAQ 的潜在出口客户。

该系统射程达400公里（249英里），最高时速可达65公里/小时（40英里/小时）。水面作战型配备昼夜视觉能力和加密通信基础设施，可从移动车辆和指挥中心操作，也可从航空母舰或护卫舰等海上平台操作。

该基础设施可用于情报、监视、侦察、水面作战、非对称作战、护航任务和战略基础设施保护。

水面作战型的导弹系统包括四个“Cirit”导弹发射单元和两个“L-UMTAS”导弹发射单元，均由土耳其国有导弹制造商罗克特桑公司（Roketsan）生产。ULAQ还将配备不同版本的通信和情报技术，例如干扰系统和电子战系统。

该舰艇预计还将能够与配套无人机进行联合行动。

布拉克·埃格·贝克迪尔是《防务新闻》的土耳其记者。