Ukraine conducts military drills with Bayraktar TB2 drones
The Ukrainian Air Force conducted drills using Turkish attack drones Bayraktar TB2. According to the Ukrainian news agency Armyinform, the drones, which took off from the airfield near Mykolaiv, flew towards Tendrovsk Bay, located in the southwestern part of the Black Sea coast. The drones later returned to the same airfield.
"Drones have worked out various training tasks," the agency said in a statement. It reminded that Tendrovsk bay is often used by Ukrainian military to practice sea landings.
Turkey recently successfully conducted manoeuvres during which, Bayraktar TB2, for the first time, hit a sea target with high-precision munitions. The target was located near the coastline, between small islands.
The target was hit using a laser-guided MAM-L missile built in Turkey.
The Russian newspaper Moskovskij Komsomolets, commenting on the maneuvers, recalled the statement Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev that drones of this type played an "exceptional role" in the victorious war for Nagorno-Karabakh.
In October 2020, Russia said that Kyiv may try to retake the Donbass with the help of Turkish weapons.
Amid the maneuvers of the Ukrainian Air Force, the first prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) Alexander Boroday said in an interview with the URA.RU that members of the Union of Volunteers of Donbass (SDD) are ready to act in case of escalation of the military conflict in the South-East of Ukraine.
The Bayraktar TB2 can carry guided, anti-tank missiles and aircraft bombs. It is equipped with a Rotax 912 internal-combustion engine and its fuselage is made of composite materials. The Bayraktar also uses an automatic take-off and landing system.