Bayraktar TB2
Baykar · Turkey · first flew 2014 · reconnaissance aircraft
The Bayraktar TB2 is Turkey's medium-altitude armed drone, cheap enough to field in numbers yet able to find and strike targets with laser-guided micro-munitions. Its combat record made it the most famous drone of the 2020s.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | High-mounted, straight |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × piston, fuselage-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 6.5 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Twin fin |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Twin tail booms running back from the wing to an inverted-V tail
- Piston pusher propeller at the rear of the slender central pod
- Blended kinked wing with a sensor ball under the nose — remotely piloted
Identify the twin booms ending in an inverted-V tail, a pusher propeller buzzing behind the central pod, and a long straight wing with a distinctive kinked trailing edge at the roots. It is small, slow and quiet compared with the Reaper.
Specifications
- The Bayraktar TB2 has a length of 6.5 m (21 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 12 m (39 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 222 km/h (138 mph).
- Typical crew: 0 (unmanned).
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Baykar flew the TB2 in August 2014 and the Turkish forces adopted it the following year, blooding it against PKK targets. Decisive performances in Syria, Libya and the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, then its celebrated role in Ukraine's 2022 defence, turned it into a global export phenomenon.
Variants
The baseline TB2 carries four MAM smart munitions; a naval TB2 variant, indigenous-engined versions, and the larger, more powerful Bayraktar TB3 (carrier-capable) and Akinci follow it. More than 30 countries have ordered the family, with Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Poland and Qatar prominent.
Where you'll see it
Poland became the first NATO member to buy it in 2021, and Ukrainian crews used it to destroy armour and even help sink Russian naval targets — earning it folk songs. The UK does not operate the TB2, relying instead on Reaper/Protector and Watchkeeper.
Related aircraft
- Baykar Akıncı
- Baykar Bayraktar Akıncı
- Baykar Bayraktar Kızılelma
- Baykar Bayraktar TB3
- Adcom Systems Yabhon United 40
- Elbit Systems Skylark 3
- Meraj 113
- Shahed 171 Simorgh
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