Türkiye’s 1st unmanned marine craft to have domestic diesel engine

Türkiye’s first armored unmanned surface vessel (AUSV), the first marine craft of the ULAQ project, will be powered by a domestically developed marine diesel engine, the head of the company making the engine said Monday.

Halim Tosun, general manager of TÜMOSAN Engine and Tractor Industry Inc. told Anadolu Agency (AA) that they manufacture engines for the defense industry and his company is part of many projects kicked off under the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB).

For example, he said, “We continue to work on the production and integration of domestic engines in tactical wheeled armored vehicles,” as well as producing for the Turkish Air Forces Command.

Torun said that they have gained important ground in the ULAQ project, which was developed by Ares Shipyard in cooperation with Ankara-based Meteksan Defense Industry Inc.

“We will carry out prototype deliveries of the engines this year,” he said, noting that have taken important steps toward becoming a marine engine supplier in line with the Turkish defense industry’s recent push for local production and nationalization of systems.

“There are special needs in all elements of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), from 50 horsepower to 4,000 horsepower engines. TÜMOSAN takes an active role in meeting these needs with domestic and national subsystems, especially in engine powers of 550 horsepower and below,” the company head said.

Saying that new arrangements and modernization works will be carried out in the factory campus in TÜMOSAN’s central Konya province, Tosun said, “When the work there is completed, a significant contribution will be made to Konya's industry and employment.”

Tosun stated that the factory land in Konya has been declared a special industrial zone, and that in this context, an investment commitment of approximately TL 1 billion ($54.87 million) has been made to the Ministry of Industry and Technology.

Emphasizing that 8 million euros have been invested in machinery, equipment and equipment so far, Tosun added that they are continuing to work on their investments.

The unmanned platform, ULAQ, was initially launched at sea in January and began trial trips. Then in May, it was announced that the AUSV was ready to launch missiles.

The AUSV came as a result of three years of research and development (R&D) activities by Turkish defense industry companies. It has a cruising range of 400 kilometers (249 miles), a speed of 65 kph (40.3 mph), day and night vision capabilities and a national encrypted communications infrastructure.

The remotely controlled, autonomous unmanned marine product can be operated inside land vehicles, from the headquarters command center or on floating platforms. It can carry out tasks such as reconnaissance, surveillance, intelligence, surface warfare, asymmetric warfare, armed escort and force protection along with strategic facility security.

It bears a pod with four laser-guided Cirit missiles, and two laser-guided long-range anti-tank missile (L-UMTAS) launchers, both developed by another leading Turkish defense company, Roketsan.