© N. Liashonok/Ukrinform/Sipa
TB2
Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones have established themselves as one of the most valuable assets of the Ukrainian army once morest the Russian invader.
They are only twenty at most. However, the Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones have established themselves as one of the most valuable assets of the Ukrainian army once morest the Russian invader. According to military analyst Stijn Mitzer, from the Oryx blog, these 700-kilogram machines have already destroyed around sixty Russian equipment, including six armored vehicles, around ten anti-aircraft systems, nine helicopters and two command centers. The Ukrainian army even made a song in honor of the Turkish drone, which had already contributed to Azerbaijan’s victory over Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in 2020. Less sophisticated than the American Reapers, at the superior radius of action, the TB2s are not lacking in advantages: robust, enduring, they can be deployed from basic runways and carry four laser-guided missiles.
“Hole in the racket of the French forces”
Fifteen countries have already bought it, including Qatar, Poland, Morocco, Libya and Pakistan. Something to give ideas in France. “These reliable and cheap, consumable drones are a hole in the racket of the French forces that must be filled urgently, believes Cédric Perrin, LR vice-president of the Senate Defense Committee and author of several reports on drones. Faced with the scenario of high-intensity conflicts, we cannot be satisfied with ultra-high-end equipment, in small numbers.” LREM deputy Fabien Gouttefarde and Thierry Berthier, researcher at the Saint-Cyr cyberdefense chair, even called on March 28 in Atlantico to develop in less than two years a French TB2 at 5 million euros per unit. Against 118 million for the future European Euro-drone.
