Turkish Bayraktar TB-2 drones played a vital role in repelling Russian aggression at the beginning of the war, allowing Ukrainian units to stop enemy armored columns. However, then the Bayraktars practically disappeared from view – the conditions for their use after the Russian troops were consolidated on the defense lines turned out to be unfavorable.
After a long break, the Bayraktars appeared on the battlefield again. This may mean that the efforts of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to systematically destroy Russian air defense systems, supply and support routes, and ammunition depots during the counteroffensive that has been going on for three months have yielded results, Forbes writes .
On Sunday, video footage emerged of TB-2s observing and then destroying a patrol boat on the Black Sea coast from which Russian soldiers were unloading cargo and a Ural truck in the south of the country.
The fact that Bayraktars have again appeared on the front line speaks of two things, notes a Forbes correspondent specializing in military equipment:
- Kyiv was able to rebuild a fleet of TB-2s, originally consisting of about 70 drones, but badly battered by Russian air defenses;
- The effectiveness of Russian air defense in the southern sectors of the front has dropped significantly as a result of the actions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
In the first weeks after the invasion, drones were used to destroy air defense systems covering columns of tanks and other equipment moving towards Kyiv and other major cities. Having destroyed at least a dozen Buks, Tors and Pantsirs in the first month of the war, the Ukrainians “began to use the TB-2 to perform two other important tasks – reconnaissance and air support,” eliminating armored formations near Kiev, firing at Russian units , who occupied Kherson airport and besieged Nikolaev, wrote expert on the Russian armed forces Tom Cooper.
The Oryx website, which takes into account documented losses on both sides, recorded the destruction of 99 units of Russian equipment by Bayraktars, including 15 surface-to-air missile systems, 10 helicopters, seven ships, etc.
During the first six months of the conflict, Russian troops shot down at least a dozen Ukrainian Bayraktars, but during the year 35 new ones were purchased from Turkey. However, the front line has stabilized, and since late 2022, Russian troops have gained a foothold in the occupied areas, established air defenses and shot down many TB-2s, noted Samuel Bendett, an analyst at CNA. Oryx reports the destruction of 24 Ukrainian Bayraktars.
And the ZSU began to use them only for reconnaissance, keeping them away from the front line. For combat purposes, small drones carrying explosive charges have become widely used, the production of which has been established by both defense enterprises and numerous handicraft industries.
It was only in September that strikes using TB-2 resumed, Forbes notes. In previous months, the ZSU actively used precision-guided equipment and ammunition to undermine the effectiveness of Russian defenses on the southern front. The return of the Bayraktars to active combat suggests that this task has been largely successfully completed.
Source : The Moscow Times