Ukraine’s navy has acquired the unmanned aerial system Bayraktar TB2, the first out of six purchased from Turkey, effectively joining the club of militaries operating attack drones. This was reported by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine on Facebook.
“We are gaining altitude! The first Bayraktar TB2 unmanned strike vehicle for the Navy has been delivered to Ukraine. We are conducting final acceptance tests of the vehicle at the base,” the ministry said on July 15.
The drone is designed to carry up to 4 high-precision missiles at a maximum flight speed of 222 kilometers per hour with a flight ceiling of 6,750 meters. According to the Minister of Defense Andriy Taran, it will be used by the Navy to monitor and defend the Black Sea and Azov Sea coastlines.
The handover follows years of trial flights and crew training by Turkish specialists at Ukrainian airfields. In 2019, Ukraine ordered six Bayraktar TB2 units for the Armed Forces after tactical and operational tests, to the value of $69 million. In 2020, the Ukrainian military tested the model in large-scale live-fire exercises. Later, the drones flew their first mission in the Joint Forces Operation zone, scouting enemy equipment.
More drones are expected to arrive under an agreement signed between Ukraine and Turkey this December.