Dearsan Shipyard Limited, a Turkish shipbuilding company, announced on March 5, 2024, at the Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition (DIMDEX-2024) in the Qatari capital of Doha, that they had signed a contract for the construction of two large missile boats for the Qatari Navy under the new FAC 50 project.
According to a spokesman from Dearsan Shipyard, construction on the lead boat would begin eight months after the contract is signed. The first boat is expected to be delivered to the customer within 36 months after the contract’s signature, followed by the second within 42 months.
Dearsan Shipyard’s FAC 50 boat is a wholly new project designed to suit the needs of the Qatari Navy. It is a development of the previously announced, slightly smaller FAC 46 project, which has yet to find clients. The FAC 50 project boat is supposed to be 50 metres long and 9.2 metres wide. The boat’s hull will be steel, while the superstructure will be an aluminium alloy. The powerplant will consist of three diesel engines and three waterjets, with a top speed of more than 36 knots.
The FAC 50 project boat’s armament and electronics will be primarily Turkish-made, except the Leonardo OTO Marlin 40mm remotely controlled naval gun system. The boat’s offensive missile armament will incorporate four new light anti-ship missiles, Çakır, made by Turkish company Roketsan. Qatar is the first known purchaser of these missiles. The Çakır missile has a small turbojet engine, 330 kg launch weight with a solid rocket booster, 70 kg warhead mass, 4.1-metre booster length, and a claimed range of “beyond 150 miles.” The guiding system uses an inertial, satellite and active radar homing, and a two-way datalink for mid-course adjustment.
The boat will also include a remotely controlled quad launcher for the new Turkish-made portable air defence missile system Sungur, which is also manufactured by Roketsan, two 12.7mm remotely controlled machine gun systems Aselsan STAMP, and two 12.7mm machine guns mounted manually. A three-coordinate radar system, Aselsan MAR-D, will be installed to identify surface and air targets. It is stated that the boat will be equipped with CMS and superior EW capabilities.
