Hello everyone, today we are going to talk about “Turkey's Bayraktar Drones Became
an International Success”. Turkey's Bayraktar TB2 Drones have become
an international success over the past couple of years notching up sales in Poland, Ukraine,
Qatar, Azerbaijan and Morocco. Poland became its latest customer when Defense Minister
Mariusz Blaszczak announced a contract on May 25 for 24 drones armed with anti-tank
projectiles stating that they have proven themselves in wars. As Erdogan told reporters
while announcing the Poland deal, "Turkey will for the first time in its history export
drones to a NATO and EU member." There are currently a total of 180 Bayraktar TB2 unmanned
combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) operating in four countries, including Turkey."
Polish-Turkish relations have been largely praised in Turkish media in recent years,
with Warsaw considering Ankara a key ally, particularly in light of growing tensions
between Turkey-Ukraine and Russia. During the visit, the countries’ defense ministers
signed a $270 million deal for Poland to buy reconnaissance and combat unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAVs), making it the first NATO and EU member state to purchase Turkish drones.
The first batch of combat drones is expected to be delivered to Poland next year. Turkish-made
combat drones have gained widespread recognition since being deployed in Libya, Syria and most
recently in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Now let's talk about the war success stories
of Bayraktar. Bayraktar TB2s were used by the Turkish military
to strike Syria Army targets during ‘Operation Spring Shield’ a campaign against Syrian
regime forces, on the side of the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) to destroy
rebel warlord Khalifa Haftar’s forces, and by Azeri forces fighting Armenia in the enclave
of Nagorno-Karabakh. The U.A.E. deployed Chinese-built Wing Loong drones last year to support Haftar-led
Libyan National Army (LNA) inside Libya, where they gained infamy for deadly strikes using
laser-guided Blue Arrow missiles. When Turkey intervened in behalf of the opposing side,
it deployed a fleet of Bayraktar TB2s, which eventually overwhelmed and destroyed most
of the LNA’s Russian-built air defense systems, forcing the army to end its siege of Tripoli
and withdraw from a key airbase in May 2020. In the last five years, Ankara deployed its
drones in several cross-border military operations in Syria: Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch,
and Spring Shield. Turkish drones also swooped down on Bashar al-Assad's forces in Syria's
Idlib province, reportedly destroying over 100 armored vehicles bringing Assad's initially
successful assault on the rebel stronghold reeling to a halt.
About the competition in the drone market, the countries that managed to tap the drone
market successfully are the United States, Israel and China. Turkey itself previously
relied on Israeli drones in its fight against the Kurdish armed group in Syria. After the
United States denied selling Turkey its attack drones in 2010 and 2012, the latter began
developing its own from the mid-2010s. For Turkey, China is the main competition. Defense
analyst Arda Mevlutoglu explains to Nikkei Asia, “Because Western countries and Israel
are imposing strict conditions on their drone sales, many Middle Eastern and North African
countries are turning to China. So, Turkey's main competitor is China."
Ahead of Turkey’s drone deal with Poland, China delivered six CH-92A attack/reconnaissance
UAVs to Serbia in July 2020; a deal seen as China’s entry into the European market.
But contrary to expectation, it did not lead to more Chinese drone sales in Europe. While
Israel's drone industry has been hard selling its drones based on their military experience.
The Israel Defense Force (IDF) regularly uses UAVs in and around its borders, whether dropping
tear-gas canisters on Palestinian demonstrators, monitoring Hezbollah positions in Lebanon
or striking Hamas bases in Gaza. This rich in-field experience has been used in product
fine-tune. The development of the so called ‘suicide drone’ or loitering munition
that hovers over a particular area and dives down to explode near its target is credited
to the need for finding human targets in the crowded by-lanes of Gaza. Over the years Israeli
drones have become both expensive and sophisticated requiring high level technical competence
to deploy and maintain them. In 2020, Greece’s Hellenic Ministry of National Defense leased
Heron long endurance drones, in a deal that offers up an alternative to pricey acquisitions.
The Heron long endurance drones, manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), will
be used for border defense under a leasing model in which IAI experts will look after
maintenance. Talking TB2 price, these Turkish UAVs are
midway-priced as compared to Israeli and Chinese ones. Turkish-made drones are deemed more
expensive than Chinese drones but are cheaper than Israeli and American ones. However, Chinese
manufacturers do not engage in after-sales service like Turkish companies, so they miss
the feedback to improve their products. As per reports, the Polish contract covers the
acquisition of four UAV sets (24 UAVs with weapons: laser-guided MAM-L and MAM-C missiles),
mobile control stations, SAR radars, simulators, spares, training, and logistics support for
$270 million. Each set consisting of six drones would cost around $67 million, which means,
a single fully-armed Bayraktar TB2 would come at a relatively affordable price of approximately
$10 million. Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces (Far-Maroc) announced on April 18, 2021, that
they are buying 13 Bayraktar TB2s for $70 million. Therefore an unarmed drone would
cost only $5 million. Whereas China has sold the Wing Loong to several countries in Africa
and the Middle East, including Nigeria, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates, at an estimated
$1 million per unit. On the other hand, India reportedly leased four of Israel’s deadliest
drones Heron TPs for $200 million in February 2021. And a single unit of U.S. MQ-9 Reaper
costs somewhere around $100 million! Owing to its advantages in terms of price,
lethality and provision of after-sales service, Turkey is expecting to secure more contracts
in future. As we can see that the agreement with Poland paves the way for more NATO countries
purchasing Turkish drones in the future. While U.S.-made drones have proved their mettle
in places like Yemen and Afghanistan, whereas China and Israel are yet to convince the world
of the efficacy of their drone technology on difficult battle fronts. Although American
drones are deadly, they come with a much higher price tag.
The last point is about possible future sales of TB2. In this case, Ukraine has acquired
over a dozen Bayratkar drones off the shelf and it has signed a contract with Turkey to
jointly manufacture 48 of them. Also, in January 2021, Turkish publication Haber 7 reported
that Bulgaria was interested in purchasing at least six UAVs. Kazakhstan also has the
acquisition of 30-40 Bayraktar TB2s on its wish list.
So, what do you think of this drone? Is it worth buying? Let us know in the comment.
Thanks for watching.