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Feb 12, 2024

Meet Türkiye's New Kamikaze Drone Boat: ULAQ KAMA

Naval News Staff 25 Jul 2023 ARES Shipyard press release We proudly announce the ‘game-changer’ ULAQ KAMA Expendable Unmanned Surface Vessel, the newest addition to the ULAQ Family, developed by

Naval News Staff 25 Jul 2023

ARES Shipyard press release

We proudly announce the ‘game-changer’ ULAQ KAMA Expendable Unmanned Surface Vessel, the newest addition to the ULAQ Family, developed by Antalya-based ARES Shipyard and Ankara-based Meteksan Defense, both operating in the defense industry in Türkiye.

The changing geopolitical world order, especially in the recent years, reveals the necessity for defense industry products, as in all other sectors, to make an unexpected show of force to the adversary or source of threat perception. ULAQ KAMA will be the new dominant force in the seas, born out of the need to obtain products demanding relatively low-cost, but with very high impact power, in order to carry the level of deterrence to the extreme, before demonstration of hostile behavior and to make full use of the field advantages it brings.

The primary purpose of developing defense capabilities is to establish peace and stability through providing deterrence against potential actions that may threaten the rights and interests of the country. In cases where deterrence is not sufficient, with the effect of these capabilities, are meant to protect the country by preventing hostiles and, if necessary, punish them for their actions. The unstable situation in geopolitics, especially considering the events of the last 10 years, has once again highlighted the importance of developing deterrence potential and the ability to convert it to a kinetic form when deemed necessary.

ULAQ KAMA is the most effective weapon to strike at hostile intentions and the heart of its owner, and is always ready to sacrifice itself for this cause. ULAQ KAMA’s genes are rooted in its family and its spirit is rooted in its history. Only those who face it will understand the impact of ULAQ KAMA.

In a joint press statement, Utku Alanç, Chief Executive Officer of ARES Shipyard, and Selçuk Kerem Alparslan, President of Meteksan Defence, expressed: “We would like to express with great pride and happiness that the ULAQ Family, Turkey’s first armed unmanned surface vessel, continues 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.

ULAQ KAMA is not only a deterrent weapon with its explosive payload but also serves 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. ULAQ KAMA, with its distinct features, will present new and asymmetric options to operational decision-makers, spreading ‘Trust to Friends, Fear to Foes.

Considering that one of the most important elements of Asymmetric Warfare is directly proportional to the number of platforms, we would like to proudly state that we have built our production infrastructure to produce the same and high quality ULAQ KAMA as soon as possible. So much so that we will be able to deliver more than 100 ULAQ KAMAs to our end-users in less than a year after the requirement is notified. Congratulations to our country and our allies.”

Navigation systems: AJ-GNSS system, differential GNSS receiver, daylight navigation camera, thermal navigation camera, stabilized pan-tilt daylight camera, thermal camera, satellite communication.

Navigation modes: Remote drive, semi-autonomous, fully autonomous.

Payload trigger mechanism: Remote control, Visual match of predefined targets, contact to targets.

Remote control / monitor: GUI over standard laptop, ECDIS (optional).