Turkish shipbuilder Dearsan Shipyard has held a keel-laying ceremony for two 50-meter fast attack craft (FAC) being built for the Qatari Emiri Naval Forces (QENF).

As disclosed, the keel-laying ceremony for guided missile fast attack craft, which are being built at Dearsan Shipyard for the needs of the Qatar Navy, was held on December 23, 2024, with the participation of the Qatar State Delegation.

The vessels will be 50.76 meters long and 9.53 meters wide, with a draft of 2.1 meters. They will be able to travel at 36 knots maximum speed and 1000 nautical miles range. The two missile attack craft are designed to operate in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.

The vessels’ primary missions will be surface warfare with surface-guided missiles and 40 mm cannon, air defense warfare with anti-air guided missiles, asymmetric warfare with 12.7 mm stabilized and manual machine guns, and electronic warfare with an electronic support system in the areas around Qatar and in the Arabian Sea, according to Dearsan Shipyard.

The secondary missions include patrolling, protection of territorial waters, combating piracy, arms and drug trafficking, surveillance, search and rescue operations in inland and coastal areas.

The units are expected to “significantly increase the naval capabilities of the Qatar Navy”.

To recall, in March this year, Qatar and Dearsan Shipyard signed an agreement for the design and construction of two fast attack craft. The contract was inked during the Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition (DIMDEX).

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