“Dearsan Launches Two Agile Vessels for Qatar’s Naval Mastery”
On December 23, 2024, the Turkish shipyard Dearsan held a keel-laying ceremony in Istanbul to commemorate the fabrication of two FAC 50 missile-equipped Fast Attack Craft (FAC) for the Qatari Emiri Naval Forces (QENF). This notable event was graced by a Qatari delegation headed by Major General Abdullah Hassan Al Sulaiti, Commander of the Qatar Navy.
Dearsan obtained the contract for these vessels on June 21, 2023, during a formal signing ceremony in Doha. Construction commenced on February 12, 2024, following the successful culmination of the Critical Design Assessment (CDA) process, which leveraged insights from the Project Control Office.
These vessels, measuring 50.76 meters in length, with a breadth of 9.53 meters and a draft of 2.10 meters, achieve a peak velocity of 36 knots and a range of 1,000 nautical miles. Tailored for deployment in the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, and the Arabian Sea, the ships are armed for surface combat with guided missiles and a 40 mm cannon, anti-air defense supported by guided missiles, asymmetrical warfare equipped with stabilized and manual machine guns, and electronic warfare through an innovative support system.
Additional roles include patrolling, safeguarding territorial waters, countering piracy, thwarting arms and drug trafficking, executing surveillance, and conducting search and rescue missions. The design assessments for this initiative were finalized earlier in 2024, highlighting cutting-edge technology that will markedly enhance the operational capabilities of the Qatar Navy.
