Cuando Estados Unidos dispar\u00f3 por primera vez un misil desde un dron Predator armado contra presuntos l\u00edderes de Al Qaeda en Afganist\u00e1n el 14 de noviembre de 2001, qued\u00f3 claro que la guerra hab\u00eda cambiado para siempre. El dron Bayraktar TB2, un avi\u00f3n de fabricaci\u00f3n turca de la corporaci\u00f3n Baykar, marca un nuevo cap\u00edtulo en la era a\u00fan nueva de la guerra de drones.\u00a0Los drones baratos y ampliamente disponibles han cambiado la forma en que las naciones m\u00e1s peque\u00f1as luchan en las guerras modernas.<\/p>\n
WHO WHEN For decades, high-end precision-strike American aircraft, such as the Predator and Reaper, dominated drone warfare. The war in Ukraine, however, has been defined by low-budget models made in China, Iran, or Turkey. Their widespread use has changed how drone combat is waged and who can wage it.<\/p>\n Some of these new drones are off-the-shelf quadcopters, like those from DJI, used for both reconnaissance and close-range attacks. Others, such as the $30,000 Iranian-made exploding Shahed drones, which Russia has used to attack civilians in Kyiv, are capable of longer-range missions. But the most notable is the $5 million Bayraktar TB2, made by Turkey\u2019s Baykar corporation.<\/p>\n The TB2 is a collection of good-enough parts put together in a slow-flying body. It travels at speeds up to 138 miles per hour and has a communication range of around 186 miles. Baykar says it can stay aloft for 27 hours. But when combined with cameras that can share video with ground stations, the TB2 becomes a powerful tool for both targeting the laser-guided bombs carried on its wings and helping direct artillery barrages from the ground.<\/p>\n Most important is simply its availability. US-made drones like the Reaper are more capable but costlier and subject to stiff export controls. The TB2 is there for any country that wants it.<\/p>\n Turkey\u2019s military used the drones against\u00a0Kurds in 2016<\/a>. Since then, they\u2019ve been used in Libya, Syria, and Ethiopia, and by Azerbaijan\u00a0during its war against Armenia<\/a>. Ukraine bought six\u00a0in 2019<\/a>\u00a0for military operations in the Donbas, but the drones caught the world\u2019s attention in early 2022, when they helped thwart Russian invaders.<\/p>\n The tactical advantages are clear. What\u2019s also sadly clear is that these weapons will take an increasingly horrible toll on civilian populations around the world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/strong>Baykar Technologies, Shahed Aviation Industries<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Now<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n