Turkish drones have become a symbol of the Ukrainian resistance

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“Those shiny tanks are being set ablaze — Bayraktar — that’s the new craze,” go the lyrics of a popular Ukrainian song dedicated to a drone that has become one of many symbols of the nation’s resistance.

The “Bayraktar” has become so popular that Ukrainians are now naming their pets after the Turkish-made drone. Last month, the mayor of Kyiv announced that a newborn lemur at the city’s zoo would be named Bayraktar and the foreign ministry tweeted a photo of another Bayraktar, a puppy at the Kyiv police dog training center.

Western and Ukrainian officials have praised Turkey’s Bayraktar TB2 drones for playing a part in countering Russian attacks. Last month the British defense secretary Ben Wallace reportedly told UK lawmakers the drones were “delivering munitions” onto Russian “artillery and their supply lines.” He added that it was “incredibly important” to slow down and block the Russian advance.

The TB2, a medium altitude long endurance (MALE) drone, has been operational for years. It’s been in use by the Turkish military in northern Iraq and Syria since 2014. More recently it has been credited with helping tip the balance in conflicts like Libya and Nagorno Karabakh. But videos released recently by the Ukrainian military showing its strikes against Russian military targets have gone viral, putting it in the spotlight again.

The drone’s success “isn’t just the ability to target the Russian military,” said Samuel Bendett, adjunct senior fellow at the Center of Naval Analyses Russia Studies (CNAS). “It’s a public relations victory as well.”

According to Bendett the drone performed as expected but it is not “invulnerable.” Open-source evidence suggests some may have been shot down by the Russians.
The drones “are part of the Ukrainian social media campaign that is executed very well by the Ukrainian military and civilians,” he said. Videos of Bayraktar strikes went viral on social media and that is “a great morale booster … [and] a great tactical victory.”

The TB2 and other unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) being developed in Turkey have put the country on the drone map, along with the US, China and Israel, Bendett said.
Turkey, which maintains close defense and economic ties with both Russia and Ukraine, has been cautious about touting what has arguably become one of its most famous exports. The drone sales had been a major irritant for Russia long before its invasion of Ukraine; Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned late last year that the Turkish drones would have a “destabilizing” impact in the region.

A high-level Turkish bureaucrat told reporters on Friday that Russia has repeatedly complained to Ankara about drone sales to Ukraine. “They used to complain before, they are complaining right now, but we have already given the answer… these are [from] a private company and this purchase had been done before the war,” he told a foreign media briefing.
Ukraine was the first country to purchase the TB2s in 2019 and has ordered at least 36 drones so far. Last month, its defense minister announced the arrival of a new shipment of the drones.

Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2022/04/11/middleeast