Role & capabilities
- Maritime surveillance
- Port and infrastructure security
- Modular naval payload carriage
- Primary domain
- Sea surface
- System type
- Uncrewed surface vessel
- Developer / manufacturer
- ULAQ Global / ARES Shipyard / Meteksan Defence
- Origin / production countries
- Türkiye
- Other names
- ULAQ USV; ULAQ-11; ULAQ-12
- Variants / configurations
- ULAQ-11 PSV — Qatar procurement configuration; ULAQ-12 — separate larger naval configuration; ULAQ-14 — manufacturer-labelled development; surveillance/search-and-rescue/security; ULAQ-15 — manufacturer-labelled development; scaled-up ULAQ-12 and modular naval roles; ULAQ-6 KAMA — separate smaller branch
- Operators / programme customers
- Qatar Coast Guard — ULAQ-11 customer; contract confirmed; Türkiye — development and naval programme context
Evidence & current status
The current catalogue's Under Development labels remain explicit for ULAQ-14/15. Neither the ULAQ-11 export contract nor ULAQ-12 specifications proves orders, acceptance or numerical performance for those larger designs.
ULAQ is a Turkish surface-vessel family developed through ARES Shipyard and Meteksan Defence and currently presented by ULAQ Global. Its catalogue spans several hull sizes, so the export ULAQ-11 and larger ULAQ-12 should not be treated as one boat with interchangeable performance.
ARES documented an October 2024 Qatar Ministry of Interior contract for ULAQ-11 port security. Later press reporting described export progress, but a detailed customer acceptance record was not established in this review. The family-level status is anchored to that procurement commitment. Technical rows below describe ULAQ-12 ASuW/ADW, not the Qatar configuration.
The current manufacturer's catalogue still labels ULAQ-14 and ULAQ-15 as under development. ULAQ-14 is presented for surveillance, search and rescue, and maritime security. ULAQ-15 is described as a scaled-up ULAQ-12 intended to provide more capacity and support additional naval mission equipment, including mine-countermeasure work. Those roles do not establish completed trials, customer orders or naval acceptance for either larger model.
ULAQ-6 KAMA is another distinct smaller branch. Future updates should attach each order, trial or delivery to its exact designation. Numerical ULAQ-12 data cannot fill missing ULAQ-14 or ULAQ-15 specifications merely because they share a brand.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Configuration | ULAQ-12 modular USV; local, remote and autonomous modes | Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Hull / propulsion | ULAQ-12: twin diesel engines with waterjets | Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Dimensions | ULAQ-12: 12 m length; 3.74 m beam; 0.85 m draft | Not the ULAQ-11 export configuration. Source ↗ |
| Displacement / mass | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Payload | ULAQ-12: 3 tonnes | Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Endurance | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public data gap; no estimate or neighbouring variant value substituted. Source ↗ |
| Range | ULAQ-12: up to 800 nautical miles | Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Speed | ULAQ-12: 35 knots maximum | Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Sea state / environment | ULAQ-12: sea state 5 advertised | Supplier does not fully specify every mission limitation. Source ↗ |
| Sensors | Day/night optical awareness and mission-specific sensing | Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Communications / control | Line-of-sight and beyond-line-of-sight links; supervised remote/autonomous operation | Supplier-published figure; configuration and operating conditions affect performance. Source ↗ |
| Launch / deployment | Shore or supporting-ship control stations | Control-station location, not certification of every ship launch arrangement. Source ↗ |
Documented milestones
Qatar export contract announced
ARES identified the customer configuration as ULAQ-11 PSV.
Read the announcement ↗
Publication history
- — Deepen variant roles and reaffirm manufacturer-labelled development status of ULAQ-14 and ULAQ-15.
- — Added sourced land and maritime coverage with domain-specific evidence and limitations.
Suggest a correction to this entry →
Follow the evidence
Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.
- ULAQ-12 ASuW/ADW technical specification (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer / programme
- ARES Qatar export contract, 30 October 2024 (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer / programme
- Current ULAQ family and development status (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer / programme
- 2026 export report (opens in a new tab)State news agency / industry reporting