The Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial vehicle, shortly UCAV, has played a crucial role in
the many battles against the Russian and pro-Russian forces in the last five years.
Many experts define it as one of the best in its class.
But for many others, this UCAV is overrated.
As a Weapons Detective, we are investigating the Bayraktar TB2, and whether it is a true
hero.
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The Bayraktar TB2 has successfully fought all recent noteworthy battles in our times.
Undoubtedly, it is one of the most intriguing weapon systems of our time.
For some, this UCAV is a true marvel.
The others claim that it is just an overrated asset by Turkish propaganda.
Before healthily analysing these far edges of discourses, we should briefly look at the
Bayraktar TB2's history and features.
Turkey was one of the first countries which realize the importance of the unmanned aerial
vehicle, shortly UAV, in asymmetric warfare.
So, in the early 1990s, the Turkish Armed Forces intended to acquire these systems from
abroad.
But after the collapse of the USSR, NATO's easternmost ally had lost its importance in
the eyes of its Western Allies.
Because of tension with Greece and the fierce war against separatist terrorism, many countries,
including the USA, began to impose covered or open embargoes against Turkey.
The only reliable UAV supplier for Turkey was Israel.
However, the second prime development, the economic crisis, disrupted the Turkish plans
in the late 1990s.
By the new millennium, the Turkish economy rapidly recovered.
The relationship between Ankara and the Western capitals improved.
Thus, the Turkish defence industry was amazingly accelerated by the advantages of plenty of
finance and more straightforward technology transfer.
Turkey now had many local companies that could design and produce indigenous UAVs.
One of them, Baykar Defence, gained its first commercial success with the Bayraktar Mini-UAV
in 2007.
One year later, the company began to develop the Bayraktar TB1 for the Tactical UAV programme
in Turkey.
The prototype of the Bayraktar TB1 made its first flight in 2009, and after trials, it
won the contest.
But in 2012, the Turkish Armed Forces changed its acquisition plan toward a UCAV.
So, the Bayraktar TB1 remained a prototype.
The Bayraktar TB2 was simply the enlarged and armed variant of its predecessor.
It made its first flight on April 29, 2012.
Two years later, the Bayraktar TB2 became operational in the Turkish Armed Forces.
The UCAV completed its live-fire trials in 2015.
One year later, the Bayraktar TB2 began service in the Turkish Armed Forces as UCAV.
The Baykar's engineers have constantly worked with the military personnel in the field.
This experience has paved the way for many further improvements to the UCAV.
For example, during an operation, the Turkish Armed Forces directly requested the engineers
at the operations centre to give the Bayraktar TB2 an attack capability against moving targets.
And, Baykar quickly applied this ability to the UCAV after a short period.
This structure has eliminated bureaucratic delays to actualize the improvements.
The main components of the Bayraktar TB2 are mostly made of carbon fibre.
The junction sections are precision CNC machined aluminium.
The UCAV has a blended wing body design.
The tail is inverse V-shape.
The wing, tail boom, and tails are detachable.
There are solenoid valves to balance fuel consumption automatically.
Some British sources claim that the bomb racks of the Bayraktar TB2 are designed in the UK.
But, Baykar officially refuses the claim.
Initially, some critical parts of the UCAV, such as the engine and electro-optics, came
from abroad.
After the embargo imposed because of the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh War, the Rotax 912 engine
has replaced with the locally produced TEI PD170 engine.
Also, the WESCAM's CMX-15D has given its place to the ASELSAN's CATS forward-looking infrared
system.
According to the official statement of the Turkish Undersecretariat of Defense Industries
in 2016, 93 per cent of the main parts and subsystems are locally produced.
Thanks to the modular design, other electro-optic sensors produced by different countries can
be easily integrated into the UCAV by demand.
The Bayraktar TB2 can also be fitted with multi-mode active electronically scanned array
radars and electronic warfare systems.
The UCAV is controlled by the ground control station based on a NATO spec shelter unit.
The Bayraktar TB2 executes taxiing, taking off, cruising and landing autonomously.
But, all these processes can also be directly controlled by the crew.
A three-person crew in the ground control station consists of a pilot, payload operator
and mission commander.
The UCAV has a three-blade propeller at the rear.
The early examples of the Bayraktar TB2 had a two-blade propeller.
The range of the UCAV is limited by the coverage of the control station's ground-based antenna.
To solve this problem, Baykar is working on the Bayraktar TB2/S variant.
This new model has a protrusion on the fuselage and an antenna on the nose for satellite communication.
The UCAV holds the endurance and altitude records in Turkish aviation history.
It flew for 27 hours 3 minutes and climbed to 27.030 feet.
So far, 19 countries have preferred the Bayraktar TB2.
According to the open sources, Azerbaijan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Morocco,
Niger, Pakistan, Poland, Qatar, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine are some of the users of the UCAV.
The Bayraktar TB2 has a length of is 6.5 meters, a wingspan of 12 metres, a height of 2.2 meters.
Its maximum take-off weight is 700 kilograms.
The UCAV has a 170 horsepower TEI PD170 turbocharged diesel engine.
Its top cruising speed is about 220 kilometres per hour, while its operational speed is 130
kilometres per hour.
The service ceiling of the Bayraktar TB2 is 7,620 meters, in other words, 25,000 feet.
But the UCAV's operational altitude is about 5,490 meters, in other words, 18,000 feet.
It has four hardpoints, which can carry the L-UMTAS air-to-surface/anti-tank missiles,
the Cirit and Bozok guided rockets, the MAM-C, MAM-L and Kuzgun precision-guided munitions.
So far, the combat career of the Bayraktar TB2 has been very active and mediatic.
Turkey has used the UCAV against terrorist groups intensely.
On August 15, 2018, the UCAV eliminated İsmail Özden, the board member of the PKK, in northwestern
Iraq.
Through this operation, the Bayraktar TB2 proved its effectiveness against moving targets
for the first time in an actual combat mission.
But, the UCAV has made a name for itself, especially in Syria.
Turkey has used it against the PYD, Syrian Arab Army, ISIS, and occasionally against
the Russian forces.
Naturally, both sides of the conflict have different accounts over the UCAV's performance.
For example, Turkey claims that the Bayraktar TB2 managed to destroy over 70 Syrian armoured
vehicles in a week in operation 2020, which is a great success.
In contrast, Russian and Syrian sources assert that the UCAV's performance is not as good
as the Turkish said.
Some of them even call the Bayraktar TB2 an overrated propaganda asset.
They claim that seven of them were shot down by the Syrian air defence.
But, there is only visual evidence for three Bayraktar TB-2 being shot down.
The propaganda war also continues over the Libyan Civil War.
The Russian side claims that 47 Bayraktar TB2 were destroyed.
But, the Western side asserts that the losses of the UCAV are less than 20.
There is also a great debate over its success.
According to the Russian, only nine Pantsir-S1s have been destroyed.
The Turkish claim that 15 of them and many other vehicles have fallen victims of the
Bayraktar TB2.
When Azerbaijan decided to reclaim Nagorno Karabakh, the Bayraktar TB2 had the chance
to prove itself in a full-scale war.
According to open sources on the internet, the Azerbaijani UCAVs destroyed over 135 artillery
guns, 60 multiple launch rocket systems, including Smerches, 15 armoured fighting vehicles, and
80 tanks.
Even they managed to eliminate more than 20 air defence systems, including the Osas, Strela-10s,
and S-300s.
In exchange, the Armenian forces could shoot down six Bayraktar TB2s.
Because of the undeniable Armenian defeat, the Russian propaganda machine has fallen
into silence this time.
The Ukrainian Bayraktar TB2s conducted the first reconnaissance flight over the Donbas
region on April 9, 2021.
Six mounts later, they performed the first combat mission against the Russian separatist
and destroyed a D-30 howitzer.
In the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, The Ukrainian sources shared the footage of the
Bayraktar TB2s that managed to eliminate the Russian supply convoys, fuel trains, military
vehicles, tanks, and even Buk-M2 air defence systems.
In return, the Russian sources claim that two UCAVs were shot down.
The Ethiopian Bayraktar TB2s have been used in the Tigray War.
But, there is no reliable information about their combat performance.
The stories and claims about the Bayraktar TB2's combat performance drive to the wall.
According to the Russians, Turkey, Ukraine, and the internationally recognised Libyan
Government of National Accord waste their money.
But, we know that these countries, which are experiencing financial crises, war or both,
do not have money to waste.
If this UCAV failed, as the Russians claim, they would simply stop spending money on it.
The current Russo-Ukraine War shows us the Russian Army's doctrines are outdated.
Before the ground invasion, the Russian Air Force did not wipe out the Ukrainian Air Force's
assets and facilities.
The Russian intelligence has not been able to locate the base of the Bayraktar TB2s.
The Russian airborne early warning and control aircraft and fighters cannot effectively control
the Ukrainian airspace.
The situation shows there is no proper air defence umbrella over the Russian columns.
According to Turkish sources, the Pantsir-S1's radar can detect the Bayraktar TB2.
But, it experiences difficulty identifying them.
So, the Russian radars need hardware and software upgrades.
The fact that Russia started working on the Pantsir-SM variant after the experiences in
Syria supports this claim.
Turkey's aggressive policies in recent years have made this country a troublemaker in the
eyes of its allies.
In contrast, according to Ankara, the Western world caused this result by not paying attention
to Turkey's interests.
Since the purpose of this video is not to analyze this issue, we will not go into who
is right.
But, this separation caused an anti-Turkish view in the West.
So, many experts and analysts create some myths about Bayraktar TB2.
This situation reminds us of the stories told about the U-Boats during the Second World
War.
It is true that the German submarines became a pain in the neck for the allies.
But, they had no potential to win the war alone.
Many analysts claim that during wartime, the Brits purposely exaggerated the effectiveness
of the U-Boats to gain US support.
Also, magnifying the German threats increased public support for the war efforts.
The story of the Turkish UCAV is very similar to the U-Boats.
Magnifying the success of Bayraktar TB2 makes Turkey a more aggressive country in the eyes
of westerners.
Some Western sources claim that the UCAV has artificial intelligence and executes the attacks
autonomously.
Even the USA does not have such a superior technology yet.
At first glance, this may seem like exalting Turkey's technological level.
But, attacking a target without human control is actually a war crime.
Also, many Western sources claim that the Turkish drone attacks have caused civil losses.
Unfortunately, collateral damage is inevitable in a war.
Of course, we are not trying to justify any human loss.
However, even if all these claims are true, the civilian casualties caused by Turkey are
far below what the US drones have caused in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria.
Today, many NATO members nearby Russia have to improve their military capabilities.
They need low-cost, urgently deliverable and highly efficient weapon systems.
The cost of the Bayraktar TB2 is lower than the US, Israeli and Chinese rivals.
This UCAV has proved itself in many significant combats, especially against the Russians.
Many NATO countries nearby Russia have to improve their air forces urgently.
They need real combat aircraft, which are much more capable than the Bayraktar TB2.
But, could they spare a large amount of money to acquire a big number of F-35s, Rafales,
or Eurofighter Typhoons?
Besides, do these countries have time to wait for them?
The quickly deliverable and cost-effective Bayraktar TB2 is the soundest option until
the new high capable fighters arrive.
After they come, this UCAV will continue to offer an efficient supplement combat capability.
According to our analysis, the success story of the Bayraktar TB2 just began in the international
market.
The combat achievements of this UCAV necessitate a worldwide revision of military doctrines.
It is one of the most intriguing weapon systems of our time.
Undoubtedly, the Bayraktar TB2 is one of the most brilliant children of the recently rising
Turkish defence industry.
Thanks for watching our video.
And, please don't forget to subscribe to our channel and click the bell button to be notified
of our new videos.
Also, you can now click the join button to support our channel.
And as always, we would greatly appreciate all the likes, comments, and shares.