Bayraktar TB2

The Bayraktar TB2 is perhaps the most geopolitically significant drone of the 21st century, having demonstrably shifted the outcomes of conflicts in Libya (2019–20), Nagorno-Karabakh (2020), and Ukraine (2022). Developed by Baykar Defence under the engineering leadership of Selçuk Bayraktar, the TB2 is a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAS powered by a 100-hp Rotax 912 engine, carrying up to four MAM-L or MAM-C micro smart munitions. Its total cost — approximately $2M per airframe — is roughly 1/16th that of a US MQ-9 Reaper, making it the first affordable precision-strike drone to proliferate across NATO-aligned and non-aligned militaries alike.

The TB2's triple-redundant avionics, electro-optical/infrared turret, and laser designator allow it to self-designate targets for its own laser-guided munitions without ground support. In Ukraine, TB2s achieved early dramatic kills of Russian Buk and Tor air defense systems and armored columns, establishing a new paradigm for how medium-power nations can contest armor and air defense at low cost. As of 2025, more than 30 countries operate or have ordered the TB2.