Gabriel Gavin, in the London Spectator, reports that the Turkish Bayraktar drone is playing an important role in Ukraine’s defense against the Russian Invasion, and its fame has even carried over into gaming and popular music culture.
A cheer rings out in a secret command centre. On the screen, another Russian missile launcher has vanished in a cloud of shrapnel and smoke. Working miles behind the front line, a team of Ukrainian drone operators is trying to turn the tide of the war against the Kremlin’s forces. The most effective weapon in their arsenal is the Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2. Soaring 160 meters above the battlefield, it delivers death at the push of a button. So fearsome is its reputation that it has inspired a love song that has gone viral in Ukraine and even a video game.
Lightweight and with a small profile, the Bayraktars are designed to evade anti-air systems and stay undetected for as long as possible, weighing in at less than a sixth of the US’s flagship Predator drone. At the same time, its 12-meter wingspan helps it stay in the air for as long as 30-hours. Plenty of time to unleash its four laser-guided missiles. Russia, meanwhile, lacks any attack drones. Instead, they rely on reconnaissance vehicles to guide their artillery. And where the American Predator drone costs around £30 million, the Turkish equivalent can be bought for as little as £750,000.
The Bayraktars’ success has cemented Turkey’s status as one of the world’s leading drone makers. Despite close relations with Russia, Ankara has long supported Ukraine by sending it extra Bayraktars in recent months, in addition to around two dozen it has sold to Kiev since 2019. Even more concerning for commanders in Moscow was the news last year that Ukraine had struck a deal to co-produce the TB2 locally as part of a partnership agreement.
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Mike-SMO
Note that cute music video had segments of Russian equipment on low-boy trailers. Some of the “cargo” included a “tank” with a “box” instead of a turret. That is a “Borodino” (Sp?), a rocket flame thrower. That was a device for mass attacks that was developed after the Russian losses in the Chechen War. That box has approximately 21 rockets with Napalm-like warheads. Neither Russia nor the Ukraine make use of “human-wave” attacks, so it looks like the Russians plan on using flame attacks on Ukrainian civilian concentrations. Digging opponents out of masonry buildings is nasty work. The Russians clearly plan on clearing structures with fire. It worked in Chechnya.
General savagery then replaces tactics.
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