TB2 enrages Russia and reiterates its value to Ukraine
One of the more spectacular TB2 successes disclosed by the Ukrainians was this attack on a Russian fuel train. (Photo: Ukrainian MoD)
Could the Ukraine-Russia war be changing the once-held belief that TB2 strike UAVs are only effective in combat against adversaries with minimal air defence capabilities?
The apparently successful employment of Bayraktar TB2s by the Ukrainian Armed Forces against Russian ground targets — and the evident failure of the Russian Aerospace Forces or SOF to destroy the Turkish-made aircraft — builds on the significant successes the MALE UCAVs had against far less sophisticated militaries in Syria and Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Ukrainian military has been careful to maintain operational security around its use of TB2s by leaking on social media only a few examples of successful strikes since the Russian invasion began on 24 February.
TB2s had destroyed or neutralised the following targets by 7 March, according
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