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| Ukraine Will Coming Soon Bayraktar TB2 Drone Again For Free |
Kiev - Bayraktar TB2 is an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) drone. Apart from spying missions, these Turkish drones are also capable of carrying out armed attacks. Quoted from Breaking Defense, the Bayraktar TB2 is a compact drone, measuring only about 39 feet long and a wingspan of 21 feet.
This type of drone is equipped with a technology called an onboard avionics suite. With it, TB2 can fully take off and land automatically. The prowess of this drone was proven during the war in Ukraine. Inadvertently, Bayraktar TB2 was able to find the weakness of the Russian army.
"The attack from the Ukrainian drone demonstrated a serious flaw in Russia's defenses, and was a surprise to many observers," said Arda Mevlütoğlu, Turkey's military and aerospace analyst.
Due to the fact, the Bayraktar TB2 drone was once an exclusive weapon of the United States military. Although the technology is not at the forefront now, it is still the standard equipment on the modern battlefield.
According to reports, the Turkish drone dealt severe damage to the Russian surface-to-air missile system. Even Bayraktar TB2 was named a “game changer” during the war there.
Ukraine itself had received these drones long before the war. In 2019, they received six Bayraktar TB2 units. Then the Ukrainian Air and Navy has received a total of 20 drones. Last June 2022, Ukraine is known to get these three drones for free.
This was stated by the drone developer, namely Baykar. Baykar saw the contribution of the Ukrainian people who were willing to donate money to buy the drone, citing Defense View. Later, the drones they bought will be handed over to the Ukrainian military. And in just three days, the funds raised amounted to 600 million hryvnia.
Seeing the persistence of Ukrainian citizens, Baykar decided to give the drones away for free. "In return, we ask that the funds that have been collected be used to help the Ukrainian people in their struggle," the company said. "We are touched by the solidarity and determination of the people there in facing this very formidable challenge," he added.
Previously, Baykar had also stated his intention to provide free TB2 drones to Ukraine. This was done after seeing Lithuanians voluntarily raise money to help Ukraine buy Bayraktar TB2 ammunition. While the rest will be used for the logistics of the Ukrainian people.
The originator of this idea was a journalist named Andrius Tapinas, who managed to collect 5 million Euros in just three days. And recently similar news came from Poland. The Baykar company wants to send Poland's Bayraktar TB2 to Ukraine.
This was stated by the Director General of Baykar Makina Haliuk Bayraktar to Ukrinform. This Polish Bayraktar will be delivered within one to two months, and probably in October. And just like the example above, this transfer attempt saw Polish citizens collecting donations at the end of July.
More than 200,000 Poles have already raised the funds. And the originator of this idea is a journalist, sociologist and editor-in-chief there, Slawomir Sierakovskiy. Sierakovskiy expects Baykar to send drones to Ukraine for free as in the previous case. And the rest of the funds, will later be earmarked for humanitarian missions in Ukraine.