The black-and-white image, posted on the Ukrainian military account, is one of the few that have appeared on social media in recent days showing the negative impact of Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian hardware. As the load of the drone explodes in the video — which seems to be the cell phone record in the Ukrainian drone center — the people at the center can be heard gasping for joy and applause.
This video collected over 3 million views on Twitter in two days. “Fear not, O enemies; There will be no peace on our planet! ” Ukrainian soldiers record video footage.
The star of this video and others shared on Twitter is Bayraktar TB2 - a Turkish aircraft Ukrainian troops have been increasingly used against Russian forces in recent days. On Tuesday, Ukrainian troops said Bayraktar drones had destroyed one tank and two artillery shells from the night air. In other videos shared on Twitter, the Bayraktar drones, used by the military since at least 2021, are shown blasting what appears to be a Russian gas tanker and a group of trucks delivering goods.
The drones are smaller and lighter, (about seven times lighter than the American military Reaper,) with 12-foot wings that allow them to stay in the sky for 30 hours at a time. Each drone can carry four laser-guided arrows, according to advertising materials from Baykar Technologies, the manufacturer.
Turkey amplifies the role of drone power
In Turkey, a member of NATO, the drone trade in Ukraine is in line with its military interests - namely to conserve power in the Black Sea region, according to Galip Dalay, a Turkish and Middle Eastern political analyst at Chatham House, London international. news tank.
While the drones in Bayraktar were made by an independent company, Baykar Technologies, the drones were widely regarded as an arm of Turkish foreign policy. The company's chief technology officer, Selçuk Bayraktar, is the son-in-law of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "Countries like the US, China, Israel, refuse to sell armed UAVs to Ukraine," said Haluk Bayraktar, CEO of the company and Selçuk's brother, on a web site in May 2021. " Turkey is the only country that agrees to sell Ukraine this technology.