Posted on 05/12/2022 4:49:19 AM PDT by FarCenter
Few modern weapons have reached the iconic status of Turkey’s Bayraktar TB2 drone. Grainy footage from the drone’s cameras showing hapless targets in Syria, Nagorno-Karabakh and Ukraine war zones being blown up by its laser-guided bombs have cemented its reputation as a highly effective, lethal weapon.
The drone first gained international attention during 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, where Azerbaijan’s TB2 fleet was crucial in determining the outcome of the war.
Azerbaijan’s modernized armed forces used the TB2 to great effect against the Armenians, who attempted to re-use the tactics, techniques and procedures that won conflicts in 1994.
More recently, TB2 has been instrumental in Ukraine’s resistance against Russia’s invasion, inflicting huge losses against Russian forces and possibly playing key roles in some of the most significant casualties of the war, such as sinking of the Russian cruiser Moskva and critically damaging frigate Admiral Essen.
These successes have put TB2 and Turkey’s burgeoning drone industry into the international spotlight, carving a niche for Turkey in today’s growing market for combat drones, positioning it as strong player against larger drone manufacturers such as US and China.
The TB2 is classified as a medium altitude long endurance drone, referring to systems that normally fly between 10,000 and 30,000 feet with endurance of 24 to 48 hours.
According to Baykar, the drone’s manufacturer, the TB2 has an operational altitude of 18,000 feet, a 27,000-feet service ceiling, 27-hour endurance and 70-120 knots cruising speed. It can carry four laser-guided munitions and can perform target designation roles using its onboard laser designator.
Other drones in the same category include the US-made MQ-9 Reaper and Chinese-manufactured CH-4B Cai Hong. While the TB2 may be nowhere near as advanced as these drones, it compares quite favorably in terms of cost, range, armaments, payload and available support.
(Excerpt) Read more at asiatimes.com ...
The prominence of attack drones seems to have faded since the start of the war as both sides developed counter-measures. They can now only be used in limited circumstances.
It is artillery that has reclaimed its traditional place as King of the Battlefield, but now with small hard to detect drones acting as spotters. Russian armor can’t get close to Ukrainian lines before hell descends on them.
This drone has an Achilles’ heel, and it is astonishing to me that the Russians haven’t capitalized upon that fact as yet.
Perhaps they lack that capability, but I assure all that we do not.
<<>> Israeli drone-maker to supply advanced systems to US Department of Defense
“The small, lightweight and rugged Wolverine is affordable, versatile and has low power consumption,” said the Israeli company Xtend.
https://www.jns.org/israeli-drone-maker-to-supply-advanced-systems-to-us-department-of-defense/
I’m surprised that such an interesting military equipment article has not been visited by more FReepers.
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