New version of Turkish Bayraktar TB2S

Baykar Savunma, the Turkish producer of the Bayraktar TB2S, posted a photo online of a new version of the Bayraktar TB2S that will soon be operational.

The new variant of the Bayraktar, of which the exact designation is not know yet, can be easily distinguished from if predecessors. It has a protrusion in the nose, carrying the satellite communications (SatCom) equipment.

The photo also shows the ASELSAN-produced CATS FLIR camera, which replaces the Wescam FLIR camera that was recently embargoed by Canada for delivery to Turkey.

The SatCom system is also indigenously developed by ASELSAN. This system allows satellites to relay communications, which will give the Bayraktar TB2S a much higher range.

The Bayraktar TB2S is a Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (MALE-UCAV) or SİHA - Silahlı İnsansız Hava Aracı (in Turkish) and is operated by all branches of the Turkish Armed Forces.

The UCAV was sold to Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Qatar. It has proven pivotal in several conflicts already, not only in the ongoing indigenous fight against Kurdish insurgents, but also during the Turkish involvement in the war in northern Syria as well as the recent conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed area of the Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh.

On the photo, serial T128 (a standard TB2S without SatCom) can be seen, the highest number known so far.

Photo: İHA Test ve Eğitim Merkezi