Türkiye tests Bayraktar TB2 as flying drone carrier for 16 Skydagger FPV kamikaze drones.

Turkish defense manufacturer Baykar conducted a successful flight test on November 4, 2026, at the Keşan Flight Training and Test Center, deploying Skydagger FPV kamikaze drones from a Bayraktar TB2 UCAV. Equipped with twin eight-cell DAGGER POD launch assemblies holding 16 Skydagger RTF7X FPV strike drones, the combat-proven platform released two munitions while serving as an airborne communications relay to guide them onto designated targets with pinpoint accuracy. The integration establishes an FPV drone mothership capability, expanding the TB2’s payload capacity from four guided missiles to 16 air-launched FPV attack drones while extending their operational range beyond line-of-sight ground launchers.

By carrying 16 FPV attack drones, the Bayraktar TB2 could use its long flight endurance and surveillance capabilities to monitor an area for hours and strike more targets during a single mission without having to return to base for additional weapons. (Picture source: Baykar)

On November 4, 2026, Turkish defense manufacturer Baykar tested a Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial vehicle equipped with 16 Skydagger FPV one-way attack drones, successfully releasing two of them against designated targets at the Keşan Flight Training and Test Center in Edirne province, Türkiye. The aircraft carried two Dagger Pod underwing assemblies, each accommodating eight drones, and acted as an airborne communications relay through which operators guided the released weapons. The installation increases the TB2's nominal number of individually deployable weapons from four conventional guided munitions to 16 smaller FPV drones, although their warhead masses, flight endurance, guidance requirements, and effects against protected targets differ.

However, as the demonstration confirmed only two releases, not the simultaneous employment of all 16 drones, the test primarily showed a new airborne launch and communications function that could allow the TB2 to act as a drone carrier to transport small FPV drones to areas beyond their normal ground-launch reach. During the test, the TB2 departed Keşan with all 16 Skydagger drones installed beneath its wings, reached the engagement area, and released two of them, representing 12.5% of its nominal inventory. Both reached their targets through an operator-to-TB2-to-FPV communications connection, while the remaining 14 were not employed. The FPV drones were controlled through a communications connection routed via the TB2, establishing a three-part arrangement involving the operators, the carrier aircraft, and the released weapons.

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This differs from standard ground-launched FPV operations, as the radio relay can be positioned above terrain obstacles and closer to the operating area, potentially improving communications coverage without requiring the operators to move forward. At the TB2's operational altitude of 5,486 m, the geometric radio horizon to a ground-level receiver would be approximately 264 km, but this does not establish the Skydagger's usable communications range or flight distance. No release altitude, airspeed, launch interval, target movement, quantified accuracy, or electronic warfare conditions were established. The test therefore verified airborne separation and two relay-controlled impacts, not the capacity to conduct 16 consecutive or simultaneous attacks. The standard TB2 measures 6.5 m in length, has a 12 m wingspan, a maximum takeoff weight of 700 kg, and a 150 kg payload allowance, equivalent to 21.4% of its maximum takeoff mass.

How the Bayraktar TB2 can carry 16 Skydagger FPV drones

Its single piston engine develops approximately 100 hp and drives a two-bladed pusher propeller, providing a cruising speed of 130 km/h, a maximum speed of 222 km/h, an operational altitude of 5,486 m, and a service ceiling of 7,620 m. With 300 L of fuel, nominal endurance exceeds 20 hours, while an August 2014 flight lasted 24 hours and 34 minutes without the FPV installation. Dividing the 150 kg payload allowance by 16 gives 9.375 kg per drone before accounting for the two launch assemblies and their electrical and structural interfaces. If the TB2 retained an Aselflir-500 electro-optical turret weighing approximately 52 kg, the nominal remaining allowance would fall to 98 kg, equivalent to 6.125 kg per drone before the launch equipment and other mission payloads were included. The Dagger Pod reportedly carried the compact Skydagger RTF7X drone rather than the larger RTF10, RTF10X, RTF15, or RTF15 Plus variants.

The related RTF7 has a maximum warhead payload of 2 kg, a published range of 10 km, a maximum speed of 130 km/h, and an endurance of 20 minutes without a warhead or 12 minutes when armed. The 10-inch RTF10 carries up to 3 kg, retains a 10 km range and 130 km/h maximum speed, and flies for 36 minutes unloaded or 12 minutes armed, corresponding to endurance reductions of 40% and 66.7% respectively for the two variants. The RTF7X's actual endurance, maximum takeoff weight, battery capacity, and warhead configuration during the November test were not established, so the RTF7 figures cannot be treated as verified RTF7X performance. The Skydagger offers PENCE-series warheads, daylight and dual day/night cameras, image-processing functions, and laser-distance measurement on selected variants.

How Skydagger FPV drones could expand the TB2's existing weapons arsenal

Sixteen hypothetical 2 kg warheads would total 32 kg, excluding drone airframes, batteries, and launch equipment, compared with 88 kg of complete munition mass for four 22 kg MAM-L weapons. The FPV advantage for the TB2 is therefore the ability to carry more separately controlled weapons, particularly for targets that do not require the heavier explosive or penetration effects of conventional guided munitions. The TB2's current armament inventory includes the MAM-L and MAM-C guided munitions, alongside the Bozok, the Kayi-30, the L-UMTAS, the Cirit, and the Kemankeş 1, depending on integration. Its Aselsan CATS and Aselflir-500 electro-optical systems provide surveillance and laser designation, with the latter incorporating a 4096 × 2880-pixel daylight camera and MWIR/SWIR imaging channels. Triple-redundant flight controls, inertial navigation, sensor fusion, and automated takeoff and landing support aircraft operations, while the standard ground control station accommodates a pilot, payload operator, and mission commander.

Unlike laser-guided munitions, remotely piloted FPV drones require continuous video and command connectivity after release, potentially increasing operator workload and communications demand during multiple engagements. The baseline TB2 uses terrestrial line-of-sight communications below 300 km, while the TB2S introduced satellite communications on December 4, 2020. Neither satellite control of the carrier nor its electro-optical targeting equipment establishes the number of FPV drones that can be controlled simultaneously. The TB2's combat record illustrates both the potential demand for additional small weapons and the risks of operating within defended airspace. During Operation Spring Shield in Syria in February-March 2020, Turkish TB2 and ANKA-S drones attacked armored vehicles, artillery, and Pantsir and Buk air defense systems alongside electronic warfare assets.

How the Bayraktar TB2's combat experience shaped its evolution

In Libya, the Government of National Accord's TB2s attacked the Libyan National Army forces, but at least 16 aircraft were reportedly lost during the first half of 2020 and 23 across the wider campaign beginning in April 2019. Azerbaijan also employed TB2s against Armenian T-72 tanks, BMP vehicles, artillery, and Osa and Strela-10 air defense systems during the September-November 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. Ukraine, for its part, initially purchased six TB2s and three ground control stations for $69 million in January 2019, then used them against Russian vehicles, Buk and Tor systems, and targets near Snake Island during early 2022. As Russian air defenses expanded, TB2 employment shifted increasingly toward reconnaissance and artillery correction, with 26 Ukrainian units recorded destroyed by February 25, 2025.

Subsequent attacks against a Russian high-speed boat in September 2025 and unmanned surface vessels in June 2026 demonstrated continued maritime strike employment. Domestically, the TB2 entered Turkish military service in November 2014, conducted guided-weapon tests in December 2015, and exceeded one million cumulative flight hours by December 2024. Modernization included the satellite-connected TB2S in 2020, and the TB2T-AI unveiled in February 2025, which introduced turboprop propulsion, three AI computers, a maximum speed of 296 km/h, a ceiling of 9,144 m, and a 25-minute climb to that altitude. These figures represent increases of 33.3% in maximum speed and 20% in ceiling compared with the standard TB2, although the Dagger Pod compatibility remains unconfirmed.

Baykar's annual TB2 production capacity is approximately 250 aircraft, with an objective of reaching 500 through an industrial expansion involving Piaggio Aerospace and the Baykar-Leonardo LBA Systems partnership. Poland received 24 TB2s by May 2024, Romania contracted 18 for approximately $321 million in April 2023, and Croatia ordered six under a €67 million agreement in November 2024. Baykar has concluded TB2 export agreements with 36 countries and Akinci agreements with 16, covering 39 distinct customers, while its 2025 exports reached $2.2 billion. No procurement contract, retrofit cost, delivery schedule, or confirmed customer exists for the Dagger Pod configuration.

Why carrying 16 FPV drones could change the Bayraktar TB2's operational role

The principal operational advantage of carrying 16 FPV drones for the TB2 is the possibility of conducting more individual engagements during a single reconnaissance patrol without returning to reload after four conventional weapon releases. Airborne carriage also preserves the batteries of the Skydagger FPV drones, whose related 7-inch configuration has an armed endurance of just 12 minutes and a 10 km range, while their cameras could provide close-range imagery independent of the TB2's main electro-optical turret. This differs from earlier TB2 cooperative engagements, including laser designation for AKINCI-launched weapons in July 2022 and TB3-launched UAV-122 missiles in March 2025, when a floating 6 × 6 m target was engaged from more than 50 km.

Russian Molniya carriers introduced in 2025, and Gerbera and Geran-2 configurations carrying FPV drones in February 2026 pursue similar capabilities using comparatively inexpensive or expendable aircraft. Unlike those carriers, however, the TB2 could potentially retain unused drones and return for another sortie, but its loss would also sacrifice its surveillance equipment, communications systems, and remaining weapons. The decisive trade-off is therefore between the additional engagement capacity of a reusable aircraft and the cost of exposing it to enemy air defenses.

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Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, South Korea, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.