The Bayraktar TB2 drones, which Warsaw purchased from Ankara, will strengthen the potential of the Polish army and will strengthen the eastern borders of the North Atlantic Alliance.

This statement was made by the head of the Polish Foreign Ministry Zbigniew Rau, who took part in the Diplomatic Forum in Antalya.

“We are confident that this will strengthen the potential of the Polish army and contribute to strengthening NATO's eastern flank,” Rau said in an interview with Anadolu.

Rau said the purchase of drones from Ankara was another example of the transformation of strategic partnership into practical cooperation between the two countries.

“We hope that this will lead to the further development of relations between the EU and NATO in the field of security and defense,” added the head of the Polish Foreign Ministry.

Rau also stressed that transatlantic ties must "remain at the forefront" when it comes to security and defense. 

“Turkey is Poland's strategic partner in NATO both in the regional and bilateral context.

Both of our countries have significant military capabilities and face security threats at our borders, ”he said.

According to the Polish Foreign Minister, on the basis of cooperation, much can be achieved in improving the level of security and stability in the Euro-Atlantic region, strengthening NATO's eastern flank and combating international terrorism.

Turkish technology

Recall that in May 2021, the Minister of National Defense of Poland, Mariusz Blaszak, announced the purchase of 24 Turkish attack drones.

Later, after the signing of an agreement on the supply of Bayraktar TB2 to the Polish side in 2022, during a joint press conference with Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar Blaschak praised the Turkish UAVs.

“Turkish UAVs are excellent systems.

Most importantly, they are proven and successful.

I am sure that they will make a significant contribution to the Polish defense system, ”said Blaszczak.

The head of the Polish Ministry of Defense also said that the agreement provides not only for the acquisition of the equipment itself, but also for training the military in UAV control, the supply of the necessary ammunition and material and technical support.

In turn, Hulusi Akar said that Bayraktar drones have successfully proven themselves both domestically and abroad.

The Bayraktar UAVs were developed by Turkish designers in the mid-2000s.

In 2015, the Bayraktar TB2 attack drone was adopted first by the Ground Forces and then by the Turkish Navy.

Since then, the drone has been actively used in various operations.

The Turkish UAV is equipped with a composite body and a Rotax 912 engine with a capacity of 100 hp.

from.

The maximum flight speed of the drone is about 250 km / h at a cruising speed of 130 km / h, the practical ceiling for use is 7.3 km.

Bayraktar TB2 can be equipped with two anti-tank guided missiles or laser-guided gliding bombs.

Specialized military publications note that these drones were used in combat conditions in Syria, Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh.

However, according to military expert Yuri Knutov, so far Bayraktar TB2 shows mixed results when used in combat.

“Despite the fact that during the military conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, the drone praised by Turkey performed well, there was no such positive result in Libya and Syria.

But in Nagorno-Karabakh, the existing air defense systems were of the Soviet period, physically outdated and not designed to combat drones, therefore Bayraktar TB2 showed its effectiveness there, "the expert explained in a commentary to RT.

According to Knutov, Warsaw came under the influence of a marketing campaign from the Turkish side.

“Poland does not seem to know that the Russian Pantsir S-1 system has already demonstrated its superiority over Turkish drones in Libya.

In addition, Russian electronic warfare systems have repeatedly planted Bayraktar TB2, disabled their control system, ”the interlocutor of RT recalled.

  • Russian self-propelled anti-aircraft missile-gun complex "Pantsir-C1"

  • RIA News

  • © Maxim Blinov

Allied demand

At the same time, Ukraine showed interest in Bayraktar TB2 before Poland.

In 2019, Kiev purchased and tested these UAVs equipped with MAM-L bombs manufactured by the Turkish company Roketsan.

In October 2020, the general director of Ukrspetsexport, Vadim Nozdrya, said that Kiev was interested in the joint production of Bayraktar TB2, and Ukraine expects to buy 48 such drones in total.

In April 2021, the deputy head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, Yuriy Mysyagin, said that the Bayraktar UAV made its first flight to the zone of operation of the Ukrainian security forces in Donbass.

  • Turkish drone Bayraktar TB2 in Ukraine

  • globallookpress.com

  • © Mykola Lazarenko

Earlier, in March 2021, the Ukrainian media reported on the use of a Bayraktar TB2 UAV during military exercises over the Black Sea off the coast of the Kherson region.

At the same time, Turkish officials claim that the sale of these drones to Ukraine or other countries is not directed against Russia.

And Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Russia could buy Turkish military equipment if it wanted to.

“Turkey sells drones to those who have a need for them.

This deal (with Ukraine -

RT

) is not directed against Russia.

If Russia has a need for our products, then just as we bought the S-400 from it, we will also sell our products to it, ”Cavusoglu said.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned Turkey against feeding Kiev's militant sentiments.

During a press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Samikh Shukri, journalists asked him to comment on reports on the sale of Turkish drone drone to Kiev.

“We strongly recommend to all responsible countries with which we communicate (Turkey is one of them) to analyze the situation, the eternal militant statements of the Kiev regime and warn them against feeding these militaristic sentiments,” Lavrov stressed.

Speaking about strengthening NATO's eastern borders with the help of Turkish UAVs, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau obviously hints at the threat to Warsaw, which allegedly comes from Russia, Reserve Colonel Viktor Litovkin suggested in a RT commentary.

“However, these drones will not in any way strengthen the eastern borders of NATO, because no one encroaches on them, especially Russia.

Bayraktar TB2 will only strengthen the self-conviction of the Polish elite that they did the right thing by spending money again to resist Moscow, ”the military expert emphasized.

According to Viktor Litovkin, despite the strained relations between Turkey and the United States due to the supply of Russian S-400s to the Turkish side and the exclusion of Ankara from the F-35 fighter program, Washington does not interfere with the purchases of Turkish UAVs by its allies in Eastern Europe, including Ukraine.

“Considering that Ankara is a full member of NATO, Kiev wants to demonstrate that it has practically become a member of the alliance itself, buying Turkish drones,” said the interlocutor of RT.

With a high degree of probability, Warsaw and Kiev received permission to purchase UAVs from Turkey from Washington, Yuri Knutov believes.

“On the issue of acquiring Turkish weapons, Poland and Ukraine will not undertake anything without US instructions. Regarding the procurement of these drones, an agreement was signed between Turkey and Ukraine, to which Washington gave the go-ahead, since these weapons can be used against Russia. However, the deployment of such drones both on the territory of Ukraine and on the territory of Poland is not a threat to the western borders of Russia, since it has the Pantsir system, which meets the requirements of today and has a reserve for the near future, ”the expert concluded.