‘Bayraktar TB2’

The ‘Bayraktar TB2’ unmanned combat aerial vehicle, manufactured by the Turkish Baykar, is configured with an aerial platform, ground control station, ground data terminal, remote video terminal, ground support equipment, and a trailer with a generator. The tech capacities of ‘Baykar’ allow producing all the details for the vehicle to be produced under local and national brands.

The combat tactical ‘Bayraktar TB2’ UAV is classified for medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) flights suitable for reconnaissance and surveillance missions. It boasts a triply redundant avionics system and sensor architecture, which allows for autonomous take-off, landing, and cruise. The Turkish Armed Forces, Gendarmerie, and Police have been actively using the TB2 since 2014. The ‘Bayraktar TB2’ broke two main records of time and height in the history of Turkish aviation, by reaching a height of 27,300 feet and enduring 27 hours and 3 minutes in the air.

More and more countries want to obtain the ‘Bayraktar’. The very fact that a state with a developed military and aviation industry like Ukraine needs Turkey’s unmanned combat vehicles while being in a state of war with a serious opponent, must be considered a great achievement for Baykar. The Turkish military’s use of the TB2 gained prominence in the anti-terrorist operations against the PKK and battles beyond the borders of the SDF. However, what made the entire world know about the ‘Bayraktar TB2’ was its performance in the Second Karabakh War.

Tactical-technical specifications:

Length: 6.5 m;

Height: 2.2 m;

Wingspan: 12 m;

Mass: 650 kg;

Payload mass: 55 kg;

Payload: 4 laser-guided rockets;

Powerplant: 1×Rotax 912 (internal combustion);

Engine: 100 hp;

Feel capacity: 300 l gasoline;

Speed: 250 km/h;

Cruise speed: 120 km/h;

Service ceiling: over 8000 m;

Endurance: 27 hours;

Operational range: 150 km.

Successfully tested for performing reconnaissance, continuous aerial surveillance, and other tasks, the UAV is equipped with Turkish Roketsan’s MAM-L and MAM-C national smart bombs.

The ‘Bayraktar TB2’ combat UAV’s installed laser sights allow for high precision targeting and destroying the target with the four ‘smart’ rockets it’s equipped with. The vehicle boasts a fast ‘see and destroy’ function to avoid damage to close areas, which allows for prioritizing the safety of the civilian population. The UAV can also be employed to facilitate targeting for fighter planes.

The UAV is equipped with the Baykar Real-Time Imagery Transmission System (BGAM) providing real-time image transmission and processing solutions to multiple users at the same time. The BGAM is a web-based application that allows users to watch live high-resolution, non-delay broadcasts securely on the network or on tablets using the mobile application via the internet. The BGAM system automatically stores all transmitted imagery into 30-minute files. While monitoring live imagery, users can take multi-tag notes on the system. Based on these notes, a mission log can be created and then exported. Archived files can be filtered by date and by metadata.

For security reasons, the system automatically regenerates temporary passwords to secure access to live transmitted and archived imagery. The user name or device information watermark appears on all live and archived video files.

Optionally, embedded software can be integrated into the Imagery Transmission System allowing the live transmission to mobile devices operating Windows. The data transfer from a highly secured network to mobile devices is secured by adopting an end-to-end encryption method (also called the data diode model).