"It is unlikely that the Ukrainian Navy will be significantly strengthened": Kiev received the first Turkish Bayraktar drone for the needs of the fleet

The first attack drone Bayraktar TB2 for the needs of the Navy arrived in Ukraine.

This was reported by the Ministry of Defense of the Republic.

“We are gaining height!

Defense Minister Andriy Taran: the first Bayraktar TB2 unmanned attack complex for the Naval Forces has been delivered to Ukraine.

We are conducting final acceptance tests of the complex at the base location, ”reads a statement on the Defense Ministry’s official Facebook page.

In late January, the Ukrainian military portal Defense Express reported that the country's naval forces are considering the possibility of using Bayraktar UAVs to search for surface targets and issue target designations to the Neptune coastal missile system.

Recall that in 2019, even during the presidency of Petro Poroshenko, Bayraktar TB2 attack UAVs equipped with MAM-L high-precision bombs manufactured by the Turkish company Roketsan, and other high-precision ammunition were purchased for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

At that time, the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine, Oleksandr Turchynov, announced the successful tests of the new UAV, which "completed the combat mission, precisely destroying targets at the Zhytomyr range."

“This new attack unmanned system takes our unmanned aircraft to a qualitatively new level.

Bayraktar TB2 can conduct reconnaissance of enemy combat positions located at a distance of up to 4000 km, precisely destroy targets from a height of 7 km, and stay in the air for 24 hours, ”Turchinov said at the time.

In 2020, the Ukrainian military conducted large-scale tactical exercises with the participation of Turkish drones along with the American Javelin anti-tank complexes, imitating the "Karabakh experience" of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, using Bayraktar with Spike-ER complexes.

In addition, the Ukrainian military tested Bayraktar TB2 and Javelin on large-scale tactical exercises with live fire, and in April 2021, these drones flew for the first time to the Joint Forces Operation (JF) zone in Donbass, having discovered enemy equipment.

At the same time, the media reported that one such drone, having taken off from the southern part of Ukraine, flew over the Kherson, Zaporozhye, Dnepropetrovsk and Kharkov regions, after which it returned on the opposite route.

The purpose of the flight was not disclosed.

"Standard target"

UAV Bayraktar was developed by the Turkish designer Selcuk Bayraktar in the mid-2000s.

The machines are manufactured by the aircraft manufacturing company Baykar Makina, which is headed by the father of the inventor, businessman Ozdemir Bayraktar.

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

Bayraktar TB2 is equipped with a composite body and a Rotax 912 engine with 100 hp.

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 UMTAS anti-tank guided missiles or laser-guided gliding bombs MAM-L or MAM-C.

• Attack drone Bayraktar TB2

• © Global Look Press / Keystone Press Agency

According to analysts and specialized media, Turkish drones were used in battles in conflict zones in Syria, Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh.

Meanwhile, military expert Alexei Leonkov, in an interview with RT, recalled that the effectiveness of Turkish development decreases when the other side has modern air defense systems.

“Bayraktar TB2 can be quite dangerous for those countries that do not have air defense systems capable of intercepting targets up to 12 km in height and at a distance of about 30 km.

But, for example, for Russia, this Turkish drone is a standard target, which was proven during the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh and Syria, where the Tor system and other modern Russian air defense systems effectively shot down Bayraktar TB2, ”Leonkov explained.

In April of this year, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, commenting on the sale of its drones by Ankara to Kiev, warned Turkey against indulging Ukraine's militaristic sentiments.

“I will immediately say that 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.

He recalled that in 2014, as a result of an "unconstitutional coup d'etat", power in Kiev was "seized by neo-Nazis, who immediately opposed the rights of the Russian-speaking population of their own country."

“I really hope that this story is remembered, including in those countries that are discussing with Ukraine the possibility of supplying it with this or that military equipment,” the minister said.

At the same time, in a response statement from the Turkish side, represented by Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, it was said that the supply of Bayraktar TB2 shock units to the Ukrainian side was not directed against Russia.

“We sell drones to whoever requests, we have no preconditions.

This deal with Ukraine 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, ”he said.

According to Aleksey Leonkov, in this case, Turkey, cooperating with Ukraine, is also looking for new sites for the production of its military equipment.

“It is assumed that on the basis of the Motor Sich enterprise, supplies and assembly of engines for Turkish drones will be organized, which are now experiencing a shortage of some components due to the fact that after the events in Nagorno-Karabakh, foreign suppliers stopped supplying components for Bayraktar TB2 to Turkey.

In this regard, Ankara needs the technologies of Kiev, which, in turn, needs, as the Ukrainian authorities believe, "invincible" drones, "the expert explained.

"Can be used for a seemingly accidental strike."

Recall that in March this year, units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine worked out the use of Bayraktar TB2 over the Black Sea during exercises off the coast of the Kherson region.

This was reported by the information agency of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine "Armiyainform".

“Bayraktar TB2 unmanned attack aircraft flew from the mainland of Ukraine to the Tendrovskaya Spit island, which is located in the Black Sea.

The drones have worked out various maneuvering training tasks, ”the message said.

On the given map with the route it was also indicated that the takeoff and landing of the shock UAVs was carried out from the airfield in Nikolaev.

• Attack drone Bayraktar TB2

• globallookpress.com

• © Petro Poroshenko

It is worth noting that a multifunctional naval training ground of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine is located on the island of Tendrovskaya Spit.

It is used to practice amphibious assault landing and artillery firing at targets on the shore.

However, according to Alexei Leonkov, the Ukrainian Navy, due to its limited tactical capabilities, can use these UAVs only for the coast guard.

“Considering that Kiev has no aircraft carriers and there is no way to effectively place them on Ukrainian ships, Bayraktar TB2 is unlikely to significantly strengthen the Ukrainian Navy,” the military expert emphasized.

In turn, the head of the Bureau of Political-Military Analysis, Alexander Mikhailov, suggested that by purchasing drones, Ukraine is trying to strengthen its ties with Turkey, which is a NATO member and has one of the largest armies in the alliance.

“The Ukrainian authorities expect Ankara to become a useful ally for them.

However, Turkey is involved in military-technical cooperation with Russia on a number of projects, ”the analyst recalled in an interview with RT.

At the same time, according to Mikhailov, the Ukrainian military does not have the ability to effectively use the Bayraktar TB2 UAV in the Black Sea, especially against Russia.

“Considering that such Russian systems as the Tor air defense system are effectively fighting Turkish drones, if Ukraine attempts to lift them into the air and fire, for example, the coast of Crimea, Bayraktar TB2 will be immediately destroyed. At the same time, it is possible that they can be used to inflict an allegedly accidental strike from the airspace of Ukraine, ”the expert concluded.