An Ulaq 11 USV has been ordered for the Qatari Coast Guard. (Ulaq Global)
Qatar's Ministry of Interior has placed the first export order for a Turkish-made unmanned surface vessel (USV), it was announced during the Milipol exhibition in Qatar on 30 October.
Ulaq Global, which is a joint venture by the Turkish companies Ares Shipyard and Meteksan Defence, said one Ulaq 11 USV will be built for the Qatari Coast Guard to help it protect critical facilities and carry out intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. The USV will be equipped with a 12.7 mm remotely operated machine gun.
The Qatari Ministry of Interior announced on the same day that it had awarded Ares Shipyard a QAR21.3 milllion (USD5.85 million) contract and released a video showing an Ulaq prototype being tested in Turkey and at a location that could be identified as the main Qatari Coast Guard base north of Doha.
Ares officials told Janes that the USV will be delivered to the Qatari Coast Guard within 12 months.
“We will test and suggest needed modifications before we get the final version of the vessel,” the Ministry of Interior's Major General Saud Rashid al-Shafi told Janes . “If we find it effective, then we will consider acquiring more vessels.”
Onur Yildirim, who manages Ares' unmanned systems projects, told Janes he hopes to secure more Qatari Ulaq orders, including from the Qatari Emiri Naval Forces (QENF).
For more information, please see IDEF 2023: Turkey unveils locally designed kamikaze USV .
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