Ukraine’s Turkish-made drones element of ‘real influence on enemy’: military expert

Turkey’s globally lauded TB2 drones have once again made headlines abroad thanks to the game-changing role of the advanced UCAVs purchased by Ukraine in the current conflict with neighboring Russia.

“In the drone’s-eye video released by Ukraine’s military, a small, blue targeting square hovers over an image on the ground,” begins a Jan. 15 Washington Post article titled ”Why Ukraine’s Turkish-made drone became a flash point in tensions with Russia,” setting the scene for a video that shows a Russian D-30 howitzer being destroyed by Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drones in the Donbas region.

“After several seconds, a large plume of smoke bursts up from the spot. Two people are then seen running from the site, where Ukraine claims it destroyed a D-30 howitzer used by Russian-backed separatists in the eastern Donbas region.”

The article goes on to point that the aforementioned drone strike on Oct. 26 ”represented more than another clash in nearly eight years of fighting in eastern Ukraine.”

Authors Isabelle Khurshudyan and David L. Stern also emphasize that Kyiv’s backing from Turkey has raised alarms in Moscow, noting that Ukraine’s purchase of the Bayraktar TB2 drones comes without any apparent conditions on use, and that Kyiv and Ankara have inked a deal to launch a production site of the drones in Ukraine.

“For Russia, it was another signal that Ukraine is boosting its arsenal to potentially change the military balance in the region — and why Moscow is demanding NATO end all defense cooperation with Ukraine and other former Soviet republics such as Georgia. The United States and its NATO allies say that Russia can never dictate its policies.”

“I think that, of course, this creates completely different conditions for hostilities. It is an element of emotional and real influence on the enemy, ”  concluded Serhiy Zgurets, a Ukrainian military expert cited in the WP article.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces purchased six Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and three ground control stations from Turkey in 2019, which were delivered in two months.

In 2021, the first batch of TB2s was delivered to the Ukrainian Naval Forces.

The Bayraktar TB2 entered the Turkish army’s inventory in 2014 and is currently used by several other countries, including Qatar and Azerbaijan.

Turkey has used its cutting-edge drones effectively over the years in cross-border anti-terror military operations such as Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch, and Spring Shield to liberate areas near the Syrian border from terrorist groups.

Turkish drones are also said to have played a crucial role in last year's six-week war between Armenia and Azerbaijan.