According to the Ukrainian platform “Military Aviation in Ukraine”, Ukraine is said to have deployed the Turkish drone Bayraktar-TB2 near the Donbass for the first time. The drone is said to have taken off from the airfield in Kherson oblast in southern Ukraine on April 9 and then completed a flight over the Zaporizhzhya, Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv oblasts bordering the Donbass.
Yuri Mysyagin, deputy head of the Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence in the Ukrainian parliament Verkhovna Rada, is said to have confirmed the flight in eastern Ukraine. In all likelihood, it was a reconnaissance flight. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has not yet commented on the drone flight on 9 April. The fact is, however, that the TB2 drones are part of the Ukrainian armed forces. At the beginning of 2019, an agreement was signed with Turkey for the delivery of twelve drones under then President Petro Poroshenko. Ukraine has received six of these to date. Last year, a contract was signed for a further 48 TB2s, including ammunition, ground control stations and other infrastructure. According to Vadym Nozdria (see report), the general director of UkrSpecExport – which concluded the contracts with Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar Makina and is part of Ukroboronprom, Ukraine’s state-owned defense industry corporation – the drones are to be manufactured in Ukraine. According to Nozdria, this would reduce the cost of procuring the drones by up to 35 percent. The drone has already been tested several times in the skies above Ukraine, including its ability to shoot down missiles. Not only the air force, but also the Ukrainian navy is to use the TB2 in the future.
The Turkish “flag bearer”
Bayraktar type TB2 (Tactical Block 2) is a tactical unmanned aerial vehicle of the MALE class (Medium Altitude Long Endurance) that can be used for reconnaissance and combat purposes. According to the manufacturer Baykar Technologies, the drone has a length of 6.5 meters, a wingspan of twelve meters, reaches a maximum altitude of eight kilometers and can remain in the air for up to 27 hours. With a payload of 150 kilograms, the TB2 can be equipped with up to four Roketsan MAM-L and MAM-C laser-guided missiles and is said to be capable of attacking armored vehicles, battle tanks, artillery pieces, troop concentrations, mobile air defense systems and mobile missile launchers. In Turkey, the Bayraktar TB2 has been used by the armed forces, the police and the Jandarma paramilitary organization since 2014. In addition to Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Qatar are among the countries that have purchased the drone.
The drone was named after Selcuk Bayraktar, the owner and technology director of the manufacturer Baykar. The son-in-law of President Erdogan played a key role in the development of the TB2 and is regarded as the driving force behind the development of drones in Turkey. The drone’s name also has a symbolic meaning: translated, Bayraktar means “flag bearer”. The fully autonomous combat drone is considered a flagship project in view of its military successes to date. The use of the drone has turned the tide on the battlefield on several fronts: For example, in Syria in 2016 during the Turkish military offensive “Euphrates Shield”, in 2018 during Operation Olive Branch and in 2020 during “Spring Shield”. It also played an important role in the Libyan civil war, where it was deployed by the armed forces of the Tripoli government. And last but not least in the war for Nagorno-Karabakh last year (Military News reported). Experts agree that the Turkish drone (alongside the Israeli IAI Harop “Kamikaze drone”) made a significant contribution to Azerbaijan’s military victory; it is even often described as “decisive in battle”. The awarding of the “Order of Karabakh” to Selcuk Bayraktar by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev around two weeks ago emphasized the effectiveness of the Turkish drone and its contribution to Azerbaijan’s military victory in the Nagorno-Karabakh war. The Turkish drone is not only highly effective, but also relatively inexpensive. It is estimated to cost between one and two million euros per unit, including the associated infrastructure. With its successes, the Bayraktar-TB2 has already made a name for itself in the drone industry. British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, for example, described it as an “innovative and cutting-edge technology”. https://militaeraktuell.at/russland-massiert-truppen-oestlich-der-ukraine/
Brothers in arms
The latest military-technical agreements between Kiev and Ankara confirm that the 2019 drone deal was probably just the beginning of longer-term cooperation between the two countries. The agreements on increased bilateral cooperation gained momentum before the end of last year. Last autumn, Ukraine sold the S-125 anti-aircraft missile system to Turkey. In December 2020, both sides then signed contracts for the construction of Milgem-class corvettes for the Ukrainian navy. The establishment of a joint venture between the Ukrainian company UkrSpecExport and the Turkish company Baykar for the production of Bayraktar TB2 drones in Ukraine was also agreed. This agreement also provides for Kiev to export the drones to third countries. But that’s not all: as was announced a few days ago, the Ukrainian manufacturer Motor Sich is to supply the engines for the Bayraktar TB2 in future. Previously, the engines for the drone were produced by the Upper Austrian manufacturer Rotax (Militär Aktuell reported). Last October, however, Rotax’s parent company – the Canadian Bombardier – ordered a delivery stop after it became known that the Turkish drones were being used in the Nagorno-Karabakh war. Motor Sich already manufactures the AI-450S engines for the Turkish Akinci combat drones. The list of joint projects between Ankara and Kiev goes on and on. A few weeks ago, the Ukrainian ambassador to Turkey Andrii Sybiha said that a total of around 30 joint armaments and defense projects were planned. At the meeting between Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on April 10, the desire for closer cooperation in the defense sector was reaffirmed on both sides. The two countries bordering the Black Sea stand shoulder to shoulder not only in terms of military technology, but also politically. Turkey has clearly backed Ukraine in the face of Russian troop movements on the Ukrainian border. Erdogan assured Zelensky of “all necessary support”. However, the political closeness between Ankara and Kiev is not entirely new, even if it is particularly visible in times of crisis; in recent years, Erdogan has repeatedly emphasized that Turkey will always support Ukraine’s independence and will never recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
Ukrainian-Turkish bromance makes Moscow sweat
The fact that Ukraine and Turkey are maintaining their cohesion at a time when tensions between Kiev and Moscow are escalating is causing resentment in the Kremlin. The acquisition of the highly effective Turkish “flag carriers” by Ukraine appears to be a particular thorn in Russia’s side, as they represent an upgrade of its military capabilities. The drone’s superiority over Russian weapons was clearly demonstrated in Syria, Libya and especially in Nagorno-Karabakh; the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system used by Armenia or the Panzir-S1 short-range anti-aircraft missile system used by the Syrian armed forces – the Turkish drone managed to destroy both systems. The destruction of the Panzir-S1 even earned it the nickname “Panzir fighter”. The latter system is also used by the separatists in eastern Ukraine. Now that Ukraine has the Bayraktar drones at its disposal, the question arises as to what extent the Ukrainian armed forces could use them in combat and how their possible use would affect the further course of the conflict. Lieutenant Colonel Markus Reisner from the Theresian Military Academy sees the potential for escalation if drones are used more frequently in eastern Ukraine, especially as Ukraine has recently started producing its own Hrim (German: Donner) “kamikaze” drones. Moscow’s growing displeasure with the major drone deal between Turkey and Ukraine is reflected in recent statements by representatives of the Russian government. Following the meeting between the Ukrainian and Turkish presidents on April 10 and the alleged flight of the Bayraktar drone on the border to Donbass a day earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned Turkey against stirring up “militaristic sentiments” against the backdrop of heightened tensions between Moscow and Kiev. In addition, three days after the meeting between Zelensky and Erdogan, Russia suspended most charter and scheduled flights to Turkey until June. Even if this was justified by the sharp rise in the epidemiological situation in Turkey, it seems clear that Russia wants to express its displeasure at Turkey’s rapprochement with Ukraine.
Strategic considerations
The benefits for Kiev from its cooperation with Ankara are obvious. Turkey is not only helping the post-Soviet state to modernize its military. The publicly demonstrated backing from the regional superpower and its support for Ukraine’s NATO membership are also of great symbolic importance for Kiev. But what does Turkey gain from cooperation with Ukraine, apart from the economic benefits? For Ankara, the relationship with Kiev has a strong strategic dimension. A rapprochement with Kiev is intended to create a balance in Ankara’s relationship with Moscow on the one hand, and with Kiev on the other, while at the same time serving to contain Russia’s growing military presence in the Black Sea. Ankara’s cooperation plans and expressions of solidarity with Kiev are therefore a certain warning signal to Moscow that it is better not to escalate the situation. However, a break in relations between the two regional superpowers is not to be expected. Whether in Syria, Libya or Nagorno-Karabakh – the fronts on which Moscow and Ankara are pursuing opposing agendas are just as diverse as their shared political, economic and military interests.
