Baykar Bayraktar TB2

History of the Baykar Bayraktar TB2

Turkey has become only the sixth state vehicle (UAV) in the world to have an operational unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) as Turkish officials admit to using the Bayraktar TB2 at the operational level , UCAV) deployment. It joins the United States, China, Pakistan, Israel and Iran in this field. These platforms offer significant advantages over their unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) counterparts - least of which is the armed capability to locate and destroy ground elements through precision strikes without endangering human pilots or their very expensive craft .

The TB2 is based on the earlier Bayraktar tactical unmanned aerial system, which first flew in 2009 and was launched in 2014. TB2 is a form of "armed reconnaissance" that has been used successfully against the PKK (Purdistan Workers' Party) - the first recorded in the "Killing" series on September 8, 2016, and more since.

Turkey has tried for years to acquire foreign-born UCAV platforms from the US and elsewhere, to no avail. As such, it turned to local industry to develop homegrown solutions to homegrown problems, which resulted in several noteworthy products: TAI Anka (described in detail elsewhere on this site) and TB2. The TB2 gained momentum in 2015, when it provided the weapons-carrying capability for the Bayraktar tactical unmanned aerial system. This led to a court case in late 2015 and the official launch of the service in 2016. Since all jobs are local in nature, Turkey circumvents any strict gun regulations normally encountered with foreign purchases.

Furthermore, if the needs of the Turkish military require a more efficient long-term solution, the TB2 can be further developed.

The completed TB2 sees the straight-wing main aircraft amidships and aft in a slender nose cone arrangement. The engine is housed in a well-contoured casing at the rear of the fuselage - the engine air intakes pass through small grooves in the surface of the casing. The engine drives a two-bladed propeller unit in a "propeller" configuration. The double cantilevered stern is designed to expose the engine unit and its propeller. The outriggers are slender, emanating from the trailing edge of the wing root and held together at the rear of the aircraft by attached, inwardly swept vertical fins that also serve as de facto horizontal planes.

The wheeled landing gear is fixed in flight, and an optical bubble can be seen on the fuselage bellyline.

TB2 appears to use well-established drone design and construction practices - from exterior layout to interior construction. It is further classified as a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) unmanned system.

Operators control the aircraft from a ground control station (GCS), and some autonomous capabilities are built into the flight components.

The aircraft has a pair of underwing hardpoints, one on each wing, that can carry various types of ammunition, including anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM) and laser-guided bombs (LGB). All of this contributes to the precision strike capabilities coveted by today's militaries.

In addition to being able to self-identify and strike ground targets, the series has also been used to laser mark missile targets for Turkish Army attack helicopters such as the US-made HueyCobra.

Specification

Base

Year of Service

2015

Origins

Turkey

Status

Active.

Crew

0

Production

155

Manufacturer

Kale-Baykar Makina - Turkey

Operators

Azerbaijan; Kyrgyzstan; Niger; Poland (announced); Qatar; Slovakia (possibly); Tajikistan; Turkey; Ukraine

Roles

Ground attack (bombing, strafing)

The ability to conduct air strikes against ground targets using (but not limited to) artillery, bombs, rockets, rockets, etc.

Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR), reconnaissance

Monitor ground targets/target areas to assess surrounding threat levels, enemy strength, or enemy movement.

Unmanned ability

Aircraft designed (or later developed) have inherent unmanned capabilities and can fill a variety of battlefield roles.

Dimensions and Weight

Length

36.7 feet

(11.20m)

Width/span

39. 4 feet

(12.00m)

Height

10.5 feet

(3.20m)

Cured weight

926 lbs

(420kg)

MTOW

1,433 lbs

(650kg)

Wgt Difference

+507 lbs

(+230 kg)

MAINPLANE STRUCTURE

Monoplane / Center / Straight

Monoplane

Designed to use a single main wing main aircraft; this is the most popular arrangement of main aircraft.

Central Install

The main aircraft is mounted below the center on the sides of the fuselage.

Straight

Floor plans involve the use of simple, straight main plan elements.

(The structure descriptor refers to the Bayraktar TB2 production variant)

Performance

Installed:

1 x conventional engine drives the propeller unit at the rear of the fuselage in a thruster configuration.

Maximum speed

155 km/h

(250 km/h | 135 kn)

Maximum

27,001 feet

(8,230 m | 5 km)

Area

6,728 km

(6,000 km | 11,112 nautical miles)

Range (MPH) Subsonic: <614mph | Transonic: 614-921 | Supersonic: 921-3836 | Hypersonic: 3836-7673 | Hypersonic: 7673-19180 | Reentry: > 19030

ARMOR

Up to 55kg mission gear. For attack roles: 2 x UMTAS Anti-Tank Missiles (ATGM) under the wings. Future support for the MAM-L 50-pound Laser-Guided Bomb (LGB) Small Miniature Munitions (SMM) precision-guided drop bomb is planned.