According to UrduPoint, Ukraine will purchase more Turkish-made Bayraktar combat drones in 2022, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said after the visit to the conflict-torn region of Donbas: We are going to buy more (Bayraktars) next year. But I point out that will be Ukrainian Bayraktars. They will be produced in Turkey but they will be Ukrainian ones, in service of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. They will be used because we must protect our independence, also in line with Article 51 of the UN Charter," Reznikov said on late Friday, as quoted by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.
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Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial vehicle at IDEF 2021 defense exhibition in Turkey (Picture source: Army Recognition)
The Bayraktar TB2 is a Turkish medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations. It is manufactured by the Turkish company Baykar Defence, primarily for the Turkish Armed Forces. The aircraft is monitored and controlled by an aircrew in the Ground Control Station, including weapons employment, via Türksat satellite.[3] Bayraktar means "ensign" or "standard-bearer" in Turkish. The development of the UAV has been largely credited to Selçuk Bayraktar, a former MIT graduate student, and son-in-law of President Erdogan.
While the Turkish Armed Forces describe Bayraktar TB2 as a "Tactical UAV Class" to prevent it from being a competitor to the TAI Anka UAV, international standards would classify it as a medium-altitude long-endurance UAV.
The aircraft previously relied on imported and regulated components and technologies such as the engines (manufactured by Rotax in Austria) and optoelectronics (FLIR sensors imported from Wescam in Canada or Hensoldt from Germany). Engines exports were halted when Bombardier, owner of Rotax, became aware of the military use of their recreational aircraft engines.[9] In October 2020 Canadian WESCAM (optics and sensors) exports were restricted by the Canadian Foreign Ministry. At the same time, local FLIR integration tests started with Aselsan's CATS FLIR system on 6 November 2020.
Bayraktar drones have been praised for their achievements by Turkish and non-Turkish authorities. British Defense Minister Ben Wallace and American political science author Francis Fukuyama praised the platform and its systems. As of 25 July 2021, the TB2 drone had completed 300,000 flight hours globally.
