After a significant period away from the frontlines due to heavy losses at the hands of Russian forces, the Bayraktar TB-2 drones of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are once again being deployed in combat, as observed in operations carried out this week. In particular, the Turkish-made systems were seen in a strike mission against a ship and Russian troops deployed along the Black Sea coast, which took place last Wednesday.
It should be recalled that the MALE-type (Medium Altitude, Long Endurance) drones had been assigned to surveillance missions over secondary operational areas, where they could remain distant from Russia’s most modern air defense and electronic warfare systems. This marks a stark contrast with the early stages of the war, when the unmanned systems were frequently seen in Ukrainian strikes against different positions and platforms, including ships and armored ground convoys.
Expanding on the missions in which the Bayraktar TB-2 was seen back in action, the Ukrainian Navy stated this week via its Telegram channel: “The Navy destroyed another fast boat of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which was attempting to transport an airborne unit to the Tendrivska isthmus. Seven occupants were destroyed and four wounded.” Additionally, weeks earlier the institution had released multimedia material showing the use of these drones against a small vessel near the port of Zaliznyi, where multiple small guided munitions were employed to neutralize it. Going back to June, there was also a precedent of strikes against a landing ship on the Kherson coast.
Although this series of examples falls short of reflecting the same level of activity seen in the initial stages of the conflict, they indicate that the drones are gradually resuming the role for which Kyiv originally acquired them, even though they had been relegated to reconnaissance missions. It is worth remembering in this regard that Ukraine was already using the Bayraktar TB-2 in strike missions even before the start of the Russian invasion in 2022, when it was fighting separatist forces in the Donbas region; the first recorded instance dates back to October 2021.
On the other hand, delving into why these unmanned systems had been withdrawn from combat, one may look to reports from local media and open-source intelligence (OSINT) in 2023. As losses mounted, they pointed to a growing presence of Pantsir-S1, Buk, and Tor air defense systems, along with the increasing use of more advanced electronic warfare systems. In that context, the large and relatively slow drones became highly vulnerable targets for Russian defenses, which had to be degraded by air and ground strikes in order to enable the return of the Bayraktar TB-2—once again revealing that drones alone are not sufficient in modern combat.
Directly related to this, analysts from specialized outlets agree that the continuous employment of AGM-88 (HARM) anti-radiation missiles and glide bombs from manned fighters proved crucial, clearing areas that had previously been densely covered by air defenses. Along the same lines, drone activity has also benefited in mountainous and coastal regions, where geography itself hinders the deployment of air defense systems. Finally, it is important to highlight that Ukraine now also has a domestic factory capable of producing Bayraktar TB-2 drones, providing it with greater capacity to replace units lost in combat.
Images for illustrative purposes only
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