Ukraine Just Brought Back Its Bayraktar TB-2 Drones—And They're Breaking through Russia's Air Defenses
Missile-armed TB-2s are flying again over southern Ukraine
A video that the Ukrainian navy posted online on Tuesday depicts a series of precision strikes on Russian troops traveling in boats along the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine. We know the video depicts the propeller-driven TB-2 because the Turkish-made drone features distinctive symbology on its control screen.
The TB-2 led Ukraine’s initial drone counterattack in the first weeks of Russia’s wider invasion in early 2022. But the big, expensive drone—it weighs nearly 700 kg and costs millions of dollars—eventually lost relevance.
TB-2s were big, fat, and hard-to-replace targets for Russian air defenses. Smaller, better, and cheaper drones—many of them made in Ukraine—soon displaced the survivors of the approximately 60 TB-2s Ukraine had received from Türkiye.
That some TB-2s are back in action over the Dnipro speaks to the insatiable demand for drones as Russia’s wider war grinds into its 40th month. But it also hints at gaps in Russia’s air defenses over the southern front. The TB-2s were vulnerable three years ago. They’re even more vulnerable now, but only when the Russians can deploy their best air defenses.
The Ukrainians have been degrading those air defenses, in part by targeting the radars and launchers with the same small drones that largely replaced the TB-2s in Ukrainian service. The new generation of drones has afforded the previous generation of drones another opportunity to fight for Ukraine.
If they don’t get shot down quickly, this seems like a very good sign for Ukraine.