Capai 750 Thousand Flying Hours, Turkish Bayraktar TB2 Drone Sets New Record

Illustration of the TB2 Bayraktar Ukriana drone made by Turkey. (Wikimedia Commons/Ministry of Defense of Ukraine)

JAKARTA - Turkey's first unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), Bayraktar TB2, managed to reach 750 thousand flight hours last month.

With this achievement, Bayraktar TB2 became the first domestically made aerial vehicle to spend the longest time in Turkey's skies, close to 1 million hours of service.

"TB2 has proven its efficacy with more than 750,000 flight hours," the Baykar producer wrote as quoted from its official website Saturday, January 6.

Developed by Baykar and recognized globally in terms of technical specifications and becoming a determining factor in operations, Bayraktar TB2 entered the inventory of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in 2014, as reported by the Daily Sabah.

Currently, UCAV Bayraktar TB2 is operated by TSK, Gendarmerie General Command, Turkish National Police and the National Intelligence Organization (MIT).

In addition, this drone has been actively involved in domestic and foreign counterterrorism operations since 2014.

"The TB2 Bayraktar is the Long Endurance Medium Altitude (MALE), the Taktis Unmanned Air Vehicle capable of carrying out intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions to armed attacks. The onboard avionic series with the triple redundant avionic system includes units that allow parking, takeoff, landing and flying autonomously," said the manufacturer.

In addition to domestic use, the UCAV Bayraktar TB2 is also used by the Ukrainian military to confront Russia in the war that has been going on since February 2022.

Last September 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded the Class One Ukrainian Order of Merit award to Baykar CEO Haluk Bayraktar when he received it at Kyiv.

It was awarded in tribute to Bayraktar's contribution and his company to increasing the strength of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the fight against Russia.

"Everyone in Ukraine knows what Bayraktar is, knows your company. Thank you very much to you, Erdogan's President (Recep Tayyip) for your support and support from Turkish citizens, in the fight against this Russian aggression," President Zelensky said.