ARES Shipyard and Meteksan Defence presented a scale model of the first member of their ULAQ unmanned surface vessel family, brought to life by a joint project between the companies and developed by their own resources, Armed Unmanned Surface Vehicle (AUSV) in their booths. Also, ULAQ’s Captain Training Console was showcased in Meteksan Defence’s booth.
ULAQ AUSV is controlled by just 2 personnel, Captain and Gunner. The Captain Training Console, presented at the fair, acts as a simulator and includes all functions for the Captain commanding the vessel from the Coastal Control Station (CCS). These functions include the basics such as speed, rudder and navigation controls and are controlled by interfaces such as a throttle and a wheel, a real-time chart plotter and a status screen showing the current situation of the boat. The console also enacts emergency situations, training the Captains about these topics. A complete ULAQ AUSV simulator is also in the works, combining Captain Training Console with a Gunner Training Console.
Next Step for ULAQ: Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW)
Development of ASW configuration of ULAQ is also advancing full steam ahead, with project officials working on determining the requirements and needs of the end-users. As such, platforms with a variety of sizes and capabilities are considered. After the final configuration has been determined, production of the boat, launching and integration of different payloads will commence. Project officials list the probable payloads, subject to change according to the final configuration, as follows:
- Heavy torpedo
- Light torpedo
- ASW rockets of various calibres
- Bathythermograph/BT/XBT devices
- Towed array sonars
- Dipping sonars
- Loud hailer
- Remote controlled weapon systems
- Sonobuoys
- Electro-optical systems
