Why Bangladesh wants to buy Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drone

 
Bangladesh will purchase the popular Turkish Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), which became one of the highlights of Ukraine's fight in the face of the Russian invasion, reports BBC Bangla. The Bangladeshi government signed an agreement to purchase the UCAVs, a Bengali newspaper cited Turkey's Ambassador to Bangladesh Mustafa Osman Turan as saying.

The envoy noted that the Bangladesh Armed Forces signed an agreement with Baykar Technology, the manufacturer of Bayraktar.

"I'm not in a position to give details, but I can confirm that there is cooperation between Bangladesh and Turkey regarding drones," Turan said.

In 2021, Mosud Mannan, the Bangladeshi envoy in Turkey, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that his country was considering purchasing Turkish drones.

The South Asian country previously purchased mine protection vehicles, multidimensional rocket defense systems and armored vehicles from Turkey as part of a bilateral defense cooperation deal.

Ukraine's destruction of Russian artillery systems and armored vehicles with Turkish Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) has made "the whole world" a customer, according to its designer.

Selçuk Bayraktar, who runs the Istanbul firm Baykar with his brother Haluk, said the drones had shown how technology revolutionized modern warfare.
The TB2, which has a 12-meter (40-foot) wingspan and can soar to 25,000 feet before swooping in to destroy tanks and artillery with laser-guided armor-piercing bombs, helped undermine Russia's overwhelming military superiority.

Baykar, founded in the 1980s by Bayraktar's late father, Özdemir Bayraktar, began to focus on unmanned aircraft in 2005 as Turkey sought to strengthen its local defense industry.

The TB2 has been such a decisive factor in the conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Libya, Karabakh, and now Ukraine that it spearheads Turkey's global defense export push.

President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an says international demand is huge for the TB2 and the newer Ak?nc?.

Bayraktar said Baykar can produce 200 TB2 drones a year.

Turkey and Bangladesh are partners in the D-8 organization. In April 2021, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavu?o?lu handed over Turkey's term presidency of the D-8 Council of Foreign Ministers to Bangladesh.

Bayraktar TB2 drone previously hit the headlines due to its successful use in Libya, Syria and Azerbaijan-Armenia wars. Recently, its role in the Russia-Ukraine war drew the attention of military analysts.

The Bayraktar TB2 is a medium altitude, long-range tactical drone equipped with a triple redundant avionics system and capable of carrying four smart munitions to neutralize enemy assets.

It is fitted with an electro-optical camera module, infrared camera module, a laser designator and laser range finder.

The drone has a range of more than 150 kilometers (93.2 miles) and can fly at a maximum altitude of 25,000 feet (7.6 kilometers).

With a maximum payload capacity of 150 kilograms (330 pounds), the TB2 can travel at up to 120 knots (222 kilometers/138 miles per hour).

It also has a maximum endurance of 27 hours, making it suitable for long-range missions.

Some 14 countries have so far purchased the drone from Turkey while another 16 countries are in the process of buying it, according to the company website.

Major General (Retd) ANM Muniruzzaman, president of Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies (BIPSS), told journalists that it has been witnessed in the Nagorno-Karabakh war between Azerbaijan and Armenia how drones play a crucial role in traditional warfare.

Once again, the role of Turkish drones has strongly been proven in the Russia-Ukraine war. Due to its role in changing the course of war, there is a growing interest among the armies across the world, he said.

About the government decision to procure the Turkish drone, the security researcher said there is a need for drones in line with the modernization plan of the armed forces as well as increasing the military power. Turkey can be a good source for Bangladesh in this case.

>>BBC