ULAQ

Turkey's ARES-Meteksan armed unmanned surface vessel family, built around modular composite hulls for port security, anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, ISR/EW, mine countermeasures and expendable strike missions.

Overview

ULAQ is a Turkish family of armed and missionized unmanned surface vessels developed jointly by ARES Shipyard in Antalya and Meteksan Defence in Ankara. The family ranges from the compact ULAQ KAMA expendable strike craft to 11 m-class port-security and surface-combat boats, 12 m ASuW/ASW variants and larger 15 m concepts for mine countermeasures and longer-range strike. It is one of Turkey's most visible naval-drone programs and has moved from prototype firing tests to Turkish Navy commissioning and Qatar Coast Guard export service.

The program's main distinction is breadth rather than a single headline performance figure. ARES and Meteksan present ULAQ as a common USV line for anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, port and base security, ISR, electronic warfare, mine countermeasures, firefighting and expendable attack roles, a scope reflected in public profiles by Naval Technology and Wikipedia. Its baseline armed form uses guided rockets or anti-tank missiles; planned and larger variants add lightweight torpedoes, sonars, anti-ship missiles or the Roketsan CAKIR cruise missile.

Development

ARES Shipyard and Meteksan Defence began work on ULAQ around 2019, completed design studies by August 2020 and publicly unveiled the concept in October 2020. The first prototype was launched in Antalya on 12 February 2021, and its first live missile firing followed during the Turkish Navy's Denizkurdu-2021 exercise in May 2021, when a Roketsan Cirit laser-guided missile fired from ULAQ destroyed a land target, according to Army Recognition and Wikipedia.

The program then moved from demonstrator to procurement. Turkey's defense procurement agency, SSB, announced a contract with ARES and Meteksan on 27 December 2022 for ULAQ ASuW and ASW configurations after ASuW and Port Security trials had been completed, according to Naval News. ARES later reported production of ULAQ-12 hulls for the Turkish Navy, with TURDEF describing a completed Turkish Navy batch by December 2024 in its ULAQ-12 report.

By December 2025, the Turkish Navy had formally commissioned an ULAQ ASuW vessel during a major Istanbul Naval Shipyard ceremony that also included the submarine TCG Hizirreis and landing ship C-159. Naval News reported that the commissioned ULAQ's indigenization rate exceeded 90% after installation of a domestically produced engine and that ULAQ became the fifth USV type in Turkish Navy service after MARLIN, SANCAR, SALVO and ALBATROS.

Design & capabilities

ULAQ is built around composite, low-profile USV hulls with mission payloads swapped across the family. The baseline 11 m-class hull is reported with a length of 11 m, beam of 2.6 m, draft of 0.6 m, a 2,000 kg mission payload, 400 km range and a 35 kn cruise speed, according to Naval Technology and Wikipedia. The exported ULAQ 11 Port Security Vessel is rated for up to 10 hours at cruising speed, while the smaller ULAQ KAMA is about 6.4 m long and carries a 200 kg explosive payload.

Control is advertised as remote, semi-autonomous or fully autonomous, with encrypted and jam-resistant communications. Meteksan's control architecture includes the AKSON C-band datalink, swarm-communication options, satellite-communication options and anti-GPS-jamming protection, while control stations can be shore-based, vehicle-mounted, headquarters-based or installed aboard crewed ships, according to Naval News and Naval Technology. Public descriptions also credit the family with onboard image processing and sensor fusion; ARES has described ULAQ KAMA as using autonomous target-selection logic if communications are jammed or cut.

The family spans lethal and non-lethal payloads. Surface-combat versions carry Roketsan Cirit and L-UMTAS missiles, 12.7 mm remote weapon stations or modular KMC launchers. ASW versions add ORKA lightweight torpedoes, sonobuoys and sonar options; port-security variants emphasize surveillance and interdiction; ISR/EW and firefighting versions are unarmed mission variants; and ULAQ-15 concepts are intended to carry the CAKIR cruise missile, which Naval News described at the World Defense Show 2024 as a design and integration effort rather than a fielded configuration.

Variants

• ULAQ Surface Combat / ASuW: armed configuration reported with four L-UMTAS missiles or a mixed load of two L-UMTAS and two Cirit missiles.
• ULAQ Anti-ship: concept or configuration associated with four ATMACA anti-ship missiles.
• ULAQ-11 series: 11 m-class port-security, ASuW, anti-drone, command-and-control and manned-unmanned teaming hulls, typically with surveillance payloads and/or a 12.7 mm remote weapon station.
• ULAQ-12 series: ASuW, ASW and anti-drone family; ASuW hulls use Roketsan's KMC launcher for UMTAS/L-UMTAS/Cirit and a 12.7 mm RCWS, while ASW hulls add ORKA lightweight torpedoes, sonar options and sonobuoys.
• ULAQ-15 series: larger derivative for mine countermeasures, ASW and longer-range ASuW, including the planned CAKIR-armed strike configuration.
• ULAQ-14: ISR, search-and-rescue and maritime-security variant, lightly armed or unarmed depending on fit.
• ULAQ KAMA: expendable/kamikaze USV with a 200 kg MKE-designed explosive payload and reduced radar signature.
• ULAQ FiFi: firefighting variant.
• ULAQ MCMV: dedicated mine-countermeasures variant.

Combat record / operational use

ULAQ has no confirmed public combat engagement. Its operational record is instead a sequence of live-fire tests, exercises, commissioning events and coast-guard service. The first major demonstration was the May 2021 Denizkurdu-2021 firing, in which an ULAQ prototype launched a Roketsan Cirit missile and destroyed a land target, as reported by Army Recognition.

The family also demonstrated manned-unmanned teaming during NATO's Maritime Security Exercise in the Eastern Mediterranean on 16-20 October 2023. Naval News reported that ULAQ ASuW and Port Security vessels operated with a Turkish Navy Gabya-class frigate, Coast Guard interceptors, a Bayraktar TB2 UAV and a special-operations team, performing ISR and interdiction-support tasks without significant interference between crewed and uncrewed assets.

Export service began with Qatar. ARES and Meteksan signed a contract with Qatar's Ministry of Interior in October 2024 for a ULAQ 11 Port Security Vessel, making Qatar the first export customer, according to Naval News. The vessel arrived in Qatar in December 2024, completed testing and acceptance, and entered Qatar Coast Guard Command operational service in December 2025 for coastal patrol, surveillance and interdiction, according to Naval News.

Advantages

• Mission breadth: the family covers ASuW, ASW, port security, ISR/EW, mine countermeasures, firefighting and expendable strike roles from one design line, as described by Naval Technology.
• Early export validation: Qatar contracted an ULAQ 11 PSV in 2024 and placed it into Coast Guard service in 2025, making ULAQ one of Turkey's first exported naval-drone systems.
• High domestic content: Naval News reported more than 90% indigenization for the Turkish Navy ASuW hull after the shift to a domestically produced engine.
• Manned-unmanned teaming record: the 2023 NATO maritime-security exercise demonstrated ULAQ integration with a frigate, coast-guard craft, a TB2 UAV and special-operations forces.
• Growth path: the ULAQ-12 ASW and planned ULAQ-15 CAKIR configurations offer a route from patrol and short-range ASuW missions toward sensor-network and stand-off strike roles.

Drawbacks / limitations

• No confirmed combat use: unlike Ukrainian attack USVs, ULAQ has not publicly demonstrated wartime ship-kill performance under hostile fire.
• Short baseline weapon reach: Cirit and L-UMTAS fits are short-range compared with modern shipboard weapons, leaving the CAKIR-armed ULAQ-15 as the more consequential but not yet fielded stand-off option.
• Public cost opacity: Turkish Navy and Qatar contract values have not been disclosed, limiting external assessment of affordability and export competitiveness.
• Unsettled KAMA timeline: public reporting has described both expected Turkish Navy inventory entry in 2025 and later final sea trials in 2026, so the expendable variant's service date is not publicly settled.
• Moderate baseline performance: the 400 km range and 35 kn cruise speed are useful but not exceptional; the system's value rests more on modularity and integration than raw speed or reach.

Counterparts

• Magura V5 (UA armed USV)
• Sea Baby (UA attack USV)
• Sea Trident (UA underwater drone)
• SANCAR (Turkey) — another Turkish armed USV in Turkish Navy service.
• MARLIN (Turkey) — larger Turkish USV associated with electronic warfare and naval autonomy missions.
• ALBATROS (Turkey) — Turkish swarm-capable USV family.

Outlook

ULAQ's trajectory depends on whether the family can convert breadth into fielded capability at scale. The Turkish Navy commissioning and Qatar export sale establish institutional adoption, while the ULAQ-12 ASW, ULAQ-15 CAKIR and KAMA variants determine whether the family remains a patrol and short-range ASuW platform or becomes a broader unmanned naval-effects ecosystem. Naval News identified CAKIR integration as still at the design stage in 2024, making that variant one of the clearest watch points.

The absence of combat employment is the major caveat. ULAQ has demonstrated live firing, manned-unmanned teaming, production movement and export delivery, but it has not yet shown survivability, target acquisition and lethality in a contested naval war. Further Gulf orders, Turkish Navy batch size, ASW sensor integration and any operational deployment of KAMA or CAKIR-armed ULAQ-15 would materially change the assessment.

Key specifications

Sources

1. Wikipedia — ULAQ. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ULAQ
2. Naval News — Turkish Navy receives new submarine, landing ship and USV during major ceremony. https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2025/12/turkish-navy-receives-new-submarine-landing-ship-and-usv-during-major-ceremony/
3. Naval News — Qatar Coast Guard takes delivery of first ULAQ Armed USV. https://www.navalnews.com/event-news/dimdex-2026/2026/01/qatar-coast-guard-takes-delivery-of-first-ulaq-armed-usv
4. Naval News — Turkish Defence Agency signs contract for ULAQ USV procurement. https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2022/12/turkish-defence-agency-signs-contract-for-ulaq-usv-procurement/
5. Türkiye Today — ULAQ unmanned naval vehicles to bolster Turkiye's maritime defense. https://www.turkiyetoday.com/turkiye/ulaq-unmanned-naval-vehicles-to-bolster-turkiyes-maritime-defense-126747
6. Naval News — ULAQ combat USV proves efficiency on the field. https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2023/12/ulaq-combat-usv-proves-efficiency-on-the-field/
7. TURDEF — ARES Shipyards Produces ULAQ 12 USVs for the Turkish Navy. https://www.turdef.com/article/ares-shipyards-produces-ulaq-12-usvs-for-the-turkish-navy
8. Naval News — ARES Shipyard Showcases ULAQ USV Armed with CAKIR Cruise Missile at WDS 2024. https://www.navalnews.com/event-news/wds-2024/2024/02/ares-shipyard-showcases-ulaq-usv-armed-with-cakir-cruise-missile-at-wds-2024/
9. Naval Technology — ULAQ Armed Unmanned Surface Vessel (AUSV), Turkey. https://www.naval-technology.com/projects/ulaq-armed-unmanned-surface-vessel/
10. Army Recognition — First successful firing test for Turkish ULAQ AUSV Armed Unmanned Surface Vessel. https://www.armyrecognition.com/archives/archives-naval-defense/naval-defense-2021/first-successful-firing-test-for-turkish-ulaq-ausv-armed-unmanned-surface-vessel
11. Naval News — Qatar Becomes First Export Customer of Turkish ULAQ Armed USV. https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2024/10/qatar-becomes-first-export-customer-of-turkish-ulaq-armed-usv/

Image - A scale model of the ULAQ armed unmanned surface vessel, shown by Ares Shipyard and Meteksan Defence at the 2022 Asian Defence and Security (ADAS) exhibition in Pasay, Philippines. Photo by rhk111, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

🔒 The Analyst Section on ULAQ is for BattlePolicy Pro members. Below the line: procurement and contract history, the suppliers and companies behind the system, our head-to-head analyst view of the systems it actually competes with, and the BattlePolicy assessment note. Unlock the full file with BattlePolicy Pro →