The Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drones are highly reliable by Ukraine in blocking Russian military convoys to their country. So far, the advanced drone has proven to be effective and raises the question, how come Russia was not able to tame it? This surprised some observers.
The Ukrainian Air Force has carried out two drone strikes on Russian targets using the Bayraktar TB2. The Ukrainian embassy has released footage of a Russian convoy showing dozens of vehicles blown away by missiles from drones in the city of Chornobaivka.
On Saturday (26/2), Ukrainian forces released another drone video showing a Russian convoy hit by a drone strike, this time in the southern city of Kherson.
This drone has previously been successfully operated in the Libyan to Syrian conflict, but this is the first time it is faced with a large military like Russia with all its war technology. As it turned out, this drone managed to live up to Ukrainian expectations.
Some observers believe that it was a blunder for Russia to send troops before first taming Ukrainian air power, including these drones.
Bayraktar TB2 managed to destroy the Russian convo because Russia had not yet gained air supremacy. "The Russian Air Force has gained air superiority in some areas, but not in all of Ukraine," said Can Kaspoglu, a military analyst with EDAM.
"In addition, the Russian military has indeed destroyed many Ukrainian air bases, but some of them still have operational runways and facilities. Manned and unmanned aircraft were attacked, but not completely disturbed," he added.
Robert Lee of the Foreign Policy Research Institute assessed that Russia actually had the ability to destroy the Bayraktar TB2 drone before the war started, but did not do so for whatever reason.
"Not to mention the air defenses to protect soldiers on the ground do not seem ready to deal with this Bayraktar TB2 drone. It is not clear why this is so," he said, as quoted by us from Middle East Eye, Thursday (3/3/2022).
Flying for the first time in 2014, the Bayraktar TB2 is getting more and more capable. It can carry weapons of up to 150 kilograms and launch attacks on opposing tanks or bunkers.
This drone is 6.5 meters long and has a wingspan of 12 meters. In addition to attacking the enemy, Bayraktar TB2 can also be used for reconnaissance missions from the air. It can fly for 24 to 25 hours at a maximum altitude of 7,300 meters both during the day and at night.
The Turkish military itself has often used Bayraktar TB2, among other things, to help them fight the militants in their country. This drone was also reported to have had great success when it destroyed 73 war vehicles in Syria.
Some time ago, Ukraine and Turkey had agreed to develop the drone production in Ukraine. The manufacturing cost alone is worth USD 5 million per unit and is a source of pride for Turkey, where quite a few countries are interested and ordered it.