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Drones carrying drones: Turkey turns Bayraktar TB2 into flying weapons carrier

By · Via Times of India · Published by Everything Blog

In short

Recent testing conducted at northwestern Turkey's Keşan Flight Training and Test Center verified that the Bayraktar TB2 could transport 16 Skydagger FPV drones and release them mid-flight. Both launched munitions successfully destroyed their assigned targets while the parent aircraft managed their communication links. Baykar CEO Haluk Bayraktar highlighted that using the drone as a carrier allows short-range munitions to hit targets thousands of kilometers away. The 100-horsepower TB2 supports these missions using its 3,400-kilometer operational range and ability to carry 150 kilograms.

Key points

  • Deploying smaller FPV systems from mid-air allows operators to strike targets significant…: Deploying smaller FPV systems from mid-air allows operators to strike targets significantly farther than their standard 15-kilometer reach.
  • The mothership concept represents an evolving warfare trend of using larger drones to dep…: The mothership concept represents an evolving warfare trend of using larger drones to deploy coordinated swarms of expendable attack munitions.
  • Line-of-sight and beyond-line-of-sight systems enable the TB2 to sustain complex command-…: Line-of-sight and beyond-line-of-sight systems enable the TB2 to sustain complex command-and-control operations across its 3,400-kilometer maximum range.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

Turkey is giving its Bayraktar TB2 combat drone a new role, turning it into an airborne carrier for smaller kamikaze drones. In a recent test, the Turkish unmanned aircraft carried 16 attack drones and released two of them to strike designated targets, demonstrating how a single drone could deploy multiple smaller weapons in the battlefield.

According to Turkish defence company Baykar, the test was conducted at the Keşan Flight Training and Test Center in northwestern Türkiye. The Bayraktar TB2 carried 16 Skydagger first-person-view (FPV) kamikaze drones during the flight, releasing two of them over a designated test area.

Both drones struck their assigned targets, while the TB2 acted as an airborne communications relay, allowing ground-based operators to control the smaller attack drones independently.

Haluk Bayraktar, CEO of Baykar, described the development as a potential shift in battlefield operations, saying the integration could significantly extend the reach of smaller attack drones.

"The Bayraktar TB2, carrying 16 Skydagger FPV drones and providing an airborne communications relay, is opening the door to a new doctrine on the battlefield," he said.

He added that…

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