The CEO of Turkey's Baykar defense firm told a Ukrainian foundation last month that demand for its top-of-the-line TB2 drone has soared so high that there is now a three-year wait to purchase it.
Haluk Bayraktar said in an interview with the Come Back Alive foundation that it plans to build a new facility in Ukraine to increase the number of drones it produces.
The role that the TB2 played in counteracting Russia's invasion of Ukranian has gained it a lot of attention. Reports and videos show the effectiveness of the drones as a tool for Ukrainian resistance.
The Ukrainians might lose their defensive edge over Russia if the TB2 isn't in place.
One of the world's leading weapons manufacturers is the Bay Kar company. The company was started by Ozdemir Bayraktar.
The firm prioritized the design and output of drones by the early 2000s. The Turkish military was the first to use the drone. Counterinsurgency operations against People's Defense Units and Kurds in northern Iraq and Syria began to gain prominence during this time.
Turkey's remote-controlled counterinsurgency was thought to be the first time a country had conducted a drone campaign against citizens on its own soil, but Bayraktar remains an enthusiastic supporter.
The TB2 is roughly the size of a small plane. Videos showing how the drones target and strike Russian assets have been circulating widely on various social media platforms.
The weapon on the drone can reach speeds as high as 136 mph, thanks to the internal combustion engine. There is a maximum range of 93 miles and an operational endurance of 27 hours for the drones.
There are three ground data terminals and two remote video terminals. The digital flight control system is manufactured in Turkey.
It is a highly exportable weapon due to its many capabilities. There are 13 countries where the drones can be found today. The drone was used in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and made headlines for its role inUkraine.
It is very effective against Russian equipment in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin was against Turkey's sale of TB2s to Ukraine. Putin was upset by the Turkish company's decision to give TB2s to Ukraine.
Turkey's foreign minister told the Ukrainians to stop mentioning his country when discussing its drone imports. "If a country has purchased a weapon from us or another country, then that weapon can't be labeled as Turkish," said Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Turkish officials have defended the sale of the drones to Ukraine, noting that the company is private and not government owned.
The commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces claimed last week that two drones destroyed or severely damaged over 28 million dollars of Russian military equipment.
Infantry fighting vehicles and howitzers were among the equipment destroyed according to the commander. He said that the drones damaged five more T 72s.
Maya is a defense editor. She is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy as well as a former Anna Sobol Levy fellow. She has bylines in a number of publications.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
