Compliments to Bayraktar TB2 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
When Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his forces to Ukraine a year ago, most experts expected a swift victory for the invaders. These initial predictions of Russia’s success did not come true due to the high morale and superior military tactics on the Ukrainian side, and the supply of weapons from Turkey and Western countries. The US press wrote about three important weapons that the Ukrainians used to create devastating effect in Russia. Here are the important features of Cirit, HIMARS and Bayraktar TB2 in battle…
At the very beginning of the war, the fighters of both sides were waiting for Russian armored troops to enter the Ukrainian capital Kiev in a few days. While headlines have recently been talking about the potential of Western battle tanks or Patriot air defense systems to influence the outcome of the war, these systems have not yet been used in battles in Ukraine. However, there are some very important weapons already helping to turn the tide of war, including the Bayraktar TB2. Brad Lendon of CNN wrote an article about these guns.
JAVELIN
The Ukrainians needed a weapon that could intercept the Russians when they entered the capital, Kiev, and they found the solution in the Javelin, a shoulder-fired anti-tank guided missile usable by a single person.
Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer who developed the missile with Raytheon, explains the gun’s ease of use as follows: “To shoot, the sniper places the cursor on the selected target. The Javelin command launch unit then signals the missile to lock before launch. javelin is a ‘shoot and forget’ game. As soon as the operator fires, he can run for cover while the missile finds its way to the target.”
Experts said the Javelin guns were particularly important early in the war because the Russians tended to stay in the troops while trying to break into urban areas. A Javelin operator could open fire from a building or from behind a tree and disappear before the Russians could respond.
Javelins had another advantage, especially at the start of the war: they could be considered political. “Their low cost and defensive use make it politically easier for other countries to procure them,” Michael Armstrong, associate professor at Brock University in Ontario, told Conversation. Conversely, governments cannot agree on sending more expensive offensive weapons, such as warplanes.”
HIMARS
HIMARS systems, whose full name is the M142 High-Moving Artillery Rocket System, is defined by the US military as a “full-spectrum, combat-proven, all-weather, 24/7 lethal and precision wheeled precision attack weapon system”. It consists of a 5-ton truck carrying a capsule capable of launching rockets almost simultaneously, sending explosive warheads far beyond the front lines of the battlefield, and then rapidly repositioning to avoid a counterattack.
HIMARS fires munitions called the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) with a range of 70 to 80 kilometers. Thanks to its GPS guidance systems, it can make extremely accurate shots at a distance of about 10 meters from its targets.
Last July, Russian reporter Roman Sapenkov wrote that he had witnessed the HIMARS attack on a Russian base at Kherson airport, which was occupied by Moscow forces at the time, and wrote: “I was struck by the fact that five or six rockets had fallen on me… Almost a penny.” Yagil Henkin, a professor at the Israel Defense Forces Command and Staff College, explained to the US Marine Corps University Press that HIMARS had two major effects.
Henkin wrote that the attacks “forced the Russians to move their ammunition stores farther back, thereby reducing the available firepower of Russian artillery near the front lines and complicating logistical support.”
BAYRAKTAR TB2 DRONE
The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designed in Turkey has become one of the most well-known UAVs in the world due to its use in the Ukraine war. Experts define Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles as relatively cheap, made from ready-made parts and with lethal power.
It was observed and recorded that the missiles, laser-guided rockets and smart bombs carried by Bayraktar TB2 destroyed Russian armored vehicles, artillery and supply lines many times during the war. “TB2’s viral videos are an excellent example of modern warfare in the age of TikTok,” wrote Aaron Stein, a senior researcher at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. Stein Bayraktar added that the TB2 is not a “magic weapon”, it is “good enough”.
On the other hand, the plan to build an assembly line for drones in Ukraine was ready even before the war. Also, using these UAVs may have saved the lives of Ukrainian pilots who would otherwise be on duty. The researchers noted that TB2 Bayraktar drones were the savior when Ukraine’s position was at its most unstable.
Samuel Bendett, a senior researcher at the Naval Analysis Center for Russian Studies (CNAS), told CNN early in the war that videos of Russian casualties thanks to Bayraktar TB2 drones were a “huge morale booster” for Ukraine.
On the other hand, a viral music video about Bayraktar TB2 was shot in Ukraine.
