A Turkish weapons maker said Monday that it agreed to donate three new armed drones to Ukraine in response to a crowdfunding campaign, after the aircraft were instrumental in Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s invasion.
The company, Baykar, said it would donate the Bayraktar TB-2 drones and return the funds to the people of Ukraine after a Ukrainian politician raised some $20 million to buy new unmanned aircraft.
“We are touched by their solidarity and resolve in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges,” Baykar said in a news release.
Serhiy Prytula, the Ukrainian politician who organized the fundraising campaign tweeted, “When united, we can do impossible things!"
The Bayraktar TB-2s played a central role in Ukraine’s battle against invading Russian forces, particularly in the early days of the invasion that began in February, striking Russian military convoys and sinking Russian naval vessels.
Inexpensive and flying with a low radar profile, the drones have proven effective against Russian-backed forces in a series of conflicts in recent years, including in Syria and Libya.
The company’s decision to send more drones comes after the head of the Turkish arms-production agency said in this month that Turkey must be cautious about sending more weapons to Ukraine, part of Ankara’s policy of increasing neutrality in the conflict.
The gift of new drones is the second time Baykar has donated drones in response to a crowdfunding campaign. It gifted one of the drones for use by Ukraine after a Lithuanian crowdfunding campaign to support Kyiv’s war effort earlier in June.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Turkish drone magnate Baykar has delivered the first batch of Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) to Poland after signing an agreement back in 2021, a Baykar official said Friday.
Türkiye’s most advanced and sophisticated drone, the Bayraktar Akıncı unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), conducted a firing test with a domestically developed Precision Guidance Kit (HGK). This marks the first launch of the HGK from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
The S5 tail-numbered Bayraktar TB2 that joined the fleet, accumulated nearly 1 million flight hours, in 2014 has become the first UAV to complete its operational airframe life, having successfully surpassed 10,000 flight hours. The Bayraktar TB2 S5, now retired from active duty, will continue to serve within Baykar for training and test flights as part of airframe lifecycle research.
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