Global Debut for ULAQ KAMA Expendable USV

Our Bureau - : Oct 24, 2024 - : 2:49 am

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ARES Shipyard, is showcasing for the first time in public its 'game-changer' ULAQ KAMA Expendable Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV). An actual ULAQ KAMA Expendable USV is on display at ARES Shipyard. The ULAQ KAMA is a kamikaze USV and is the newest addition to the ULAQ Family, developed by Antalya-based ARES Shipyard and Ankara-based Meteksan Defence. Speaking to Daily News, a company official said the ULAQ KAMA is the first autonomous kamikaze boat developed in Turkiye. He added that ARES Shipyard had signed a contract with the SSB for supply of four of the kamikaze boats, with delivery scheduled next year. The official also added that the first test of the USV, in which it will be exploded as part of a test with the Turkish Navy, is also expected sometime next tear.

The ULAQ KAMA is fully autonomous vessel and not controlled via remote controlled as was done by Ukraine with great effect against Russian naval assets. With its distinct features, this new kamikaze USV will present new and asymmetric options to operational decision-makers. The kamikaze boat is 6. 3m long, 1.25 m wide and weighs 1.5 tonne. It has a range of 200 nautical miles and carries a 200 kg warhead with insensitive explosive material. It also carries an anti-GNSS system and features a SATCOM system as well. The USV can attain a speed of 50 knots at sea and testing is currently underway.

The new expendable USV was first unveiled by ARES Shipyard in August 2023. Following its launch, last year Utku Alanç, Chief Executive Officer of ARES Shipyard, and Selçuk Kerem Alparslan, President of Meteksan Defence, said that the ULAQ Family, Turkey's first armed unmanned surface vessel, would continue to expand. “We are aware of how important the ULAQ Unmanned Surface Vessel is for the defense of our country's blue homeland and the protection of our maritime interests. Today, we are witnessing together that asymmetric practices, just like in the past, continue to have the potential to alter the course of operations, even wars. By blending the most advanced work carried out in this context with the experience we have gained from the ULAQ Family, we are offering the ULAQ KAMA Expendable Unmanned Surface Vessel to the service of our country and allies.”

The ULAQ KAMA can not only serve as a deterrent weapon with its explosive payload but can also be reconfigured to serve as an Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR) platform thanks to its uninterruptable communication network, long-range, very low silhouette and unique sea worthiness beyond its dimensions. While announcing this autonomous expendable USV programme, ARES Shipyard had stated that it would be able to deliver more than 100 ULAQ KAMAs to end-users in Turkiye, within less than a year after the requirement was notified. The shipyard has the production infrastructure to produce as many of expendable USVs as soon as possible.

Ares-shipyard / Ulaq-kama /

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