Bayraktar UAV

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Bayraktar family
Role Unmanned aerial vehicle
National origin Turkey
Manufacturer Baykar
Designer Baykar
Status In service
Primary user Turkish Armed Forces
Number built 260+[1][2]
Variants

The Bayraktar UAV or Bayraktar UCAV is a family of unmanned aerial vehicles designed and manufactured by Turkish company Baykar.[3] The UAVs were developed for the Turkish Armed Forces from 2004 until the present. Some models are designed for surveillance and reconnaissance only, others are capable of tactical ground-strike missions. Baykar is also developing drones to counter other aerial systems.[4]

Bayraktar Mini UAV[]

Main article: Baykar Bayraktar Mini UAV

Bayraktar Mini UAV is a miniature UAV and the first UAV produced by Turkish company Baykar.[5][6]

With the concept of short range day and night aerial reconnaissance and surveillance applications, system design activities started in 2004. An initial prototype Bayraktar Mini A was developed in 2005, and following successful autonomous flight demonstrations, Baykar was awarded a contract to start series production by the Turkish Armed Forces. The first batch was composed of 19 aircraft and they were mainly deployed to the southeast parts of Turkey for use in counterterrorism operations.[7]

After hundreds of hours of flight trials, the system was subjected to major modifications and improved versions were developed. As a result, Bayraktar Mini B was fielded and became operational in December 2007 to be initially operated by the Turkish Armed Forces.[8][9] Due to its success in the region, the system was also exported to the Qatar Armed Forces in 2012.[10][11] The development of the aircraft is being continued and the most recent version (Bayraktar MINI D) has twice the communication range and 3 times higher maximum altitude of its predecessors.[12][13]

Bayraktar TB1[]

Bayraktar TB1 (or Bayraktar Çaldıran) is the prototype UAV, made for the Tactical UAV program of the Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (Savunma Sanayii Mustesarligi or SSM; now the Presidency of Defense Industries) of Turkey,[14] started in 2007. SSM invited two companies to compete for a prototype demonstration phase of the Tactical UAS Program. In 2009, Kale-Baykar, a joint venture between the Kale Group and Baykar Technologies, demonstrated Block A (named Bayraktar Çaldıran)[15] with its dual redundant avionics system and fully autonomous takeoff and landing capability. The aircraft was selected as the winner of the program.[16][17][18] While the contract was signed with the Presidency of Defense Industries for Bayraktar TB1s, these products were not delivered and remained as prototypes for Bayraktar Block 2s. Instead, serial production commenced with Bayraktar TB2.[19]

Bayraktar TB2[]

Main article: Baykar Bayraktar TB2

Bayraktar TB2 is the serial production aircraft of the first tactical UAV of Baykar, Bayraktar TB1.

Baykar started to develop a new combat tactical aerial vehicle system on request of Presidency of Defense Industries, after the experiences of its first tactical UAV Bayraktar Çaldıran (TB1) flown in 2011.[20] The Bayraktar TB2 conducted its maiden flight in August 2014. On 18 December 2015, a video was published for the missile test of Bayraktar TB2 as collaboration result with ROKETSAN. Roketsan's MAM (Smart Micro Munition)'s and TUBITAK-SAGE BOZOK laser-guided bombs tested for the first time.[21][22][23][24][25]

While the Turkish Armed Forces describes Bayraktar as "Tactical UAV Class" to prevent it from being a competitor to the TAI Anka UAV, international standards would classify it as a medium-altitude long-endurance UAV.[26][27]

Bayraktar Akıncı[]

Main article: Baykar Bayraktar Akıncı
Bayraktar Akıncı at Teknofest 2019

Bayraktar Akıncı is the first High-altitude Long Endurance (HALE) class unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) of Baykar.

The aircraft has a 5.5+ tons of Maximum Takeoff Weight (MTOW) while 1350+ kg of this is composed by payload. Akıncı is equipped with two turboprop engines which has two different types of thrust capabilities as 450 or 750 hp. Akinci is equipped with electronic support and countermeasure systems, dual satellite communication systems, air-to-air radar, collision avoidance radar and national advanced synthetic aperture radar.[28]

Bayraktar TB3[]

Main article: Baykar Bayraktar TB3

The Bayraktar TB3 is a variant of the TB2 that is capable of landing on a ship deck. In February 2021, chairman of the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) Ismail Demir made public a new type of UAV being developed by Baykar that is planned to be stationed to Turkey's first amphibious assault ship, TCG Anadolu.[29] The new aircraft being developed is a naval version of the Bayraktar TB2, powered by an engine developed by Turkish company Tusaş Engine Industries (TEI).[30][31] Demir said that between 30 and 50 folding-winged Bayraktar TB3 UAVs will be able to land and take off using the deck of Anadolu.[32][33] According to Baykar’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Selçuk Bayraktar, the first flight of Bayraktar TB3 will occur in 2022.[34]

Bayraktar Kızılelma[]

Main article: Baykar Bayraktar Kızılelma

Bayraktar Kızılelma, (English: Bayraktar Red Apple) is a proposed jet-powered, single-engine, low-observable,[35] supersonic,[36] carrier-capable[37] unmanned combat aircraft in development.[38][37]

According to data shared by the company, Bayraktar Kızılelma will have an operational altitude of 40,000 feet (12,192 m), a take-off weight of 5.5 tons, a payload of 1.5 tons, and an ammunition carrying capacity of 1 ton.

Operational history[]

Kurdish–Turkish conflict[]

Turkish military use TB-2 gained prominence in counterinsurgency operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and People's Protection Units (YPG) militants positions across the border in Iraq and Syria.[39][40][41] Turkey considered PKK and YPG as terrorist organizations.[42]

Libya[]

In June 2019, international news media reported that the Libyan UN recognized[43] Government of National Accord (GNA) used Bayraktar TB2s to strike an airbase held by General Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA). Despite the UN embargo on Libya's ongoing civil war, it is suspected that at least 3 Bayraktar TB2 UCAV were being used over Tripoli by the GNA government forces. On 6 June 2019, two GNA Bayraktar TB2 drones are destroyed along a operation room by LNA attacks on Mitiga Airport.[44][45] Video evidence shows at-least one Bayraktar TB2 flying over Tripoli[46] about to land at Mitiga's Military section, under control of GNA-allied forces.

Syria[]

See also: Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War and List of aviation shootdowns and accidents during the Syrian Civil War

On March 2020 Bayraktar TB2s, Anka-S UAVs, and an array of Koral electronic jammers were deployed and extensively used in coordinated action to strike Syrian Army targets on the ground during the Operation Spring Shield launched by Turkey following losses the Turkish forces incurred at the hands of the Russian forces in northwestern Syria at the end February 2020.[47][48][49] The deployment was assessed by experts to be a success and a tactical game-changer.[50][51][52]

Azerbaijan and 2020 Nagorno Karabakh war[]

See also: 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war
Bayraktar TB2 at 2020 Victory Parade in Baku, Azerbaijan

In June 2020, the Defence Minister of Azerbaijan, Zakir Hasanov, announced that Azerbaijan had taken the decision to purchase Bayraktar drones from Turkey.[53] During the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, Bayraktar TB2s were used against Armed Forces of Armenia with great success.[54] Azerbaijan used TB-2 to destroy Armenian artillery, infantry positions and military vehicles including BM-30 Smerch MLRS, T-72s tanks, BMP-1 and BMP-2 IFVs.[55][56] Several Osa, Strela-10 and 5 S-300 air defense systems were also destroyed by TB2s.[55][57][58][59]

Ukraine[]

Bayraktar TB2 of Ukrainian Air Force armed with MAM-L, two ground control stations in the background

As a part of its military modernization program, Armed Forces of Ukraine acquired 12 Bayraktar TB2s in 2019.[60][61] After successful use of the aircraft, the Ukrainian Navy ordered 5 additional Bayraktar TB2s, reportedly delivered in 2020.[62] Meanwhile, Turkish and Ukrainian officials announced the establishment of a joint venture to produce 48 additional Bayraktar TB2s in Ukraine.[63]

Ukraine's Bayraktar TB2s have seen extensive use during the defence of the country in the ongoing 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine,[64] being used in both surveillance and ground attack roles against Russian ground convoys.[65][66]

Operators[]

Baykar announced to the public via Twitter on 5 March 2022, that Bayraktar UAVs were exported to at least 19 countries. Only 11 of these user countries are publicly known, while the other 8 countries are unknown:[67][68]

Gallery[]

  • Bayraktar GCS cutaway

  • Bayraktar Ground Control Station

  • Baykar UAV Team

See also[]

References[]

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