Ukraine’s Drones Are Wreaking Havoc On The Russian Army

It was an open question in the days leading up to the invasion of Ukraine if the small force of Turkish-made drones would survive the first volley of Russian missiles.

It is apparent that the TB-2s flew into action after nearly a month. The Ukrainian killer-drone fleet is arguably its most potent force.

In the last few days, the Ukrainian air force and navy have dismantled the entire front-line air-defense network of Russia.

With credible reports that Turkey has sent fresh shipments of drones, it's possible that the campaign is just beginning.

The victory over Armenia in a short but violent territorial war was aided by the small fleet of TB-2s. There is a possibility that the war in Ukraine will be similar to the one in Iraq.

In July of 2021, Ukraine acquired its first TB-2. The navy and air force reportedly possessed around 20 of the 40-foot-span, 1,400-pound propeller-driven drones armed with 14-pound, laser-guided Smart Micro Missiles.

The air strikes and missile barrages that preceded the Russian ground offensive were not known if the ground stations and operators would survive.

But they did. It seems the drone force suffered no major losses as it dispersed from its permanent bases, such as Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine, to smaller facilities likely concentrated in the country's west.

It took a few days for the operators to set up their gear and prepare their drones for their missions. The drones opened an aerial offensive once they did. By March 20, foreign observers had confirmed that nearly 60 tanks, air-defense systems, helicopters, supply trucks and trains had fallen victim to the strikes.

The actual number of drone kills is much higher. We don't know the real total because Ukraine doesn't want us to know where and how often its drones are striking.

The campaign expanded in stages. The short-range air-defense systems protecting Russian tank formations and supply convoys were the first to be attacked. The drones have a number of SAM weapons.

After they were free of Russian air-defenses, the Ukrainians began to deploy their TB-2s for their other two important tasks. Russian tanks and supply trucks are easy to find.

In the Kyiv area, they have destroyed many of the Russian armored formations, and in the south, they directed massive and precise bombardments on the Kherson airport.

The MAMs were thrown at several field headquarters. The effect on the Russians has been profound.

There are no major limitations on where the TB-2s can strike in the war zone. The videos depict drone strikes as far south as Kherson and as far north as the Kyiv suburbs.

The distance the drones are flying seems to suggest that Turkey gave Ukraine the latest version of the TB-2 with satellite-communications capability, as well as access to Turksat satellites. Line-of-sight radio can take a drone out to 100 miles.

Russia's long-range SAMs are still intact. They are powerless to stop the TB-2s. The operators of the TB-2 appear to be flying their drones at low altitude, below the horizon of long-range radars, until it's time to attack.

It is possible that low flight prevents wide surveillance. Even when it does fly high, the TB-2 usually avoids detection.

This makes sense. The small size and modest power of the TB-2 makes it hard to detect for many radar operators. It is a stealth warplane. It helps if you fly mostly at night.

The same stealth qualities that protect a drone from air-defenses allow it to loiter, undetected, over a stretch of highway for 24 hours at a time, silently waiting for the Russians to roll past.

The Tuberculosis-2 isn't invulnerable. The drone is easy to replace. The Russians claim to have shot down a lot of the drones, but there is no photographic evidence of any of them.

In any event, most of the TB-2s it had at the start of the war are still in Ukraine, along with any additional airframes it got from Turkey in the last few weeks. The steady degradation of Russian air-defenses, along with the growing drone force, could mean that the campaign could escalate in the coming weeks.

In a 44 day period in late 2020, Azerbaijan knocked out It could have been a decisive contribution to a winning campaign. Ukraine has worked out highly effective tactics for their additional Tuberculosis-2s.

There was a doubt about the viability of the drone force on the eve of the Russian attack. The weapon is fearsome. In the hands of skilled and creative operators, it'swreaking havoc on the Russian army.