First Turkish Bayraktar TB2 Drone Delivered to the Ukrainian Navy

Turkey's Baykar Savunma has delivered the first Bayraktar TB2 combat drone to the Ukrainian Navy.

"The first naval Bayraktar TB2 drone has been delivered to Ukraine. We are conducting final acceptance tests of the complex at the base," Andriy Taran, the Ukrainian defense minister was quoted as saying by the MoD on Twitter Thursday.

The Ukrainian Army already has several Bayraktar UAVs in its inventory. Earlier this month, the Army deployed these drones armed with MAM-C, a high explosive variant of Roketsan’s smart micro munitions (MAM) family, during the multinational Sea Breeze 2021 exercises held in the Black Sea.

Ukraine wants to buy many more Bayraktar TB2s and even plans to establish a facility to manufacture them along with Turkey.

Following the increasing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, a Bayraktar TB2 conducted a reconnaissance flight on 9 April 2021, over the Donbas region. This was the first operationalization of the aircraft by the Ukrainian Forces within an active conflict zone.