The development of the Bayraktar TB2 had been spurred by a U.S. ban on exports of armed unmanned aircraft to Turkey due to concerns they would be used against PKK groups inside and outside Turkey. The Bayraktar TB2 first flew in August 2014 On 18 December 2015, a video was published for the missile test of Bayraktar TB2. Baykar signed a deal with Qatar in March 2018 to manufacture six drones for the Qatari forces. In January 2018, Baykar signed an agreement with Ukrspetsproject on the purchase of 12 Turkish Bayraktar TB2 and 3 ground control stations worth $69 million for the Ukrainian army. Ukraine received the first batch of UAVs in March 2019.
Operational history
Iraq
The Bayraktar TB2 was used to kill what Turkey’s defence ministry said were "five PKK terrorists" across the border in Iraq in early November 2019.
Libya
In June 2019, international news media reported that the Libyan Government of National Accord used Bayraktar to strike an airbase held by General Haftar's Libyan National Army. Despite the UN embargo on Libya's ongoing civil war, it is suspected that at least 3 Bayraktar TB2 UCAV are being used over Tripoli by the UN recognized government. The LNA general Haftar's forces, on the other hand, claimed to have destroyed one UAV in Mitiga airport. Video evidence shows at-least one Bayraktar TB2 flying over Tripoli about to land at Mitiga's Military section, under control of GNA-allied forces. Turkish TB2s have continued to see wide scale use in western Libya, targeting LNA fighters. The LNA routinely reports downing of Turkish drones, claiming to shoot down six in one week. In December 2019, the LNA claimed to have shot down two Turkish TB2 UAVs in Ain Zarah near Tripoli. On 31 March 2020, Libyan National Army shot down another Turkish Bayraktar TB2 combat drone near the Libyan city of Tripoli. On 5 April 2020 an Antonov An-26 transport plane was destroyed on an airstrip near Tarhuna, Libya. Forces of the Government of National Accord reported that it had shot an Antonov cargo plane carrying ammunition for Libyan National Army militias. LNA confirmed the attack but stated that the aircraft carried medical supplies. It was reported unconfirmedly that the aircraft was hit by fire from a Bayraktar TB2 drone. On April 17, 2020, a Turkish Bayraktar TB2 Drone shot down near Bani Walid. In the 3rd week of May 2020, Libyan National Army's Pantsir missile system has reportedly shot down two of Government of National Accord’s Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 combat drones. One near Tarhuna city and the another one near Jebel Sherif. According to Lostarmour, a website that tracks aircraft and armour losses based in photographic evidence, at least 19 TB2s are confirmed as destroyed as of June 8, 2020.
Syria
The Bayraktar TB2 along with Anka-S UAVs as well as an array of electronic jammers were deployed and extensively used in coordinated action to strike targets on the ground during the Operation Spring Shield launched by Turkey following the heavy losses the Turkish forces incurred at the hands of the Russian forces in northwestern Syria at the end February 2020. The deployment was assessed by experts to be a success and a tactical game-changer. Russian sources alleged that the Russian-backed Syrian air defence had downed seven Bayraktar TB2 UAVs by 5 March 2020. The drones are reportedly armed with MAM-C and MAM-L ‘micro-munitions’ with ranges up to 8.6 miles. On 18 March 2020, a team of the ANNA News news agency reported the finding of the wreck of a Turkish Bayraktar TB2 shot down in Saraqib.
