02 March 2022
by Gareth Jennings
The Turkish-supplied TB2 UCAV is the only armed UAV in the Ukrainian inventory and as such is highly important to the country's continued war effort against Russia. (Baykar)
Turkey has airlifted additional Baykar Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) to Ukraine.
The Ukrainian defence minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on 2 March that new combat ready TB2s had arrived in the country as part of a wider package of international military assistance.
“The amount of help we are receiving is increasing […]. Ukraine has already [received] and [put] on combat standby new [Bayraktar UCAVs],” Reznikov announced. The minister's statement followed rumours of a delivery of new TB2s from Turkey after a Turkish Air Force Airbus A400M transport aircraft was tracked flying from Ankara to Poland on 1 March.
Prior to the Russian invasion, Ukraine was known to have received six TB2s from Turkey. The minister did not say how many additional TB2s had been delivered.
The TB2 is the only UCAV in Ukrainian service and was first used by the country in October 2021 when a separatist D-30 122 mm howitzer in the breakway Donbass region was targeted and destroyed. Footage released by the Ukrainian government since the launch of offensive Russian operations on 24 February has shown the TB2s to have been heavily engaged in the fighting, destroying several ground vehicles including Buk surface-to-air missile systems.
The TB2 is a medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that was developed to provide the Turkish Army with a tactical intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance capability. According to Janes All the World's Aircraft: Unmanned , it is 6.5 m long and has a 12 m wingspan. With a maximum take-off weight of 630 kg, the air vehicle can carry up to 55 kg in mission system and/or weapons payload. Performance specifications give the Bayraktar TB2 a cruising speed of 70 kt, a range of 150 km, an endurance of 24 hours, and a service ceiling of nearly 30,000 ft.
19 March 2024
by Jeremiah Cushman
Bombardier has unveiled its Smart Services Defense programme to provide fixed cost-per-flight-hour support for its Challenger and Global families of business jets. Above is a computer-generated image of Bombardier's Global business jet family. (Bombardier)
Bombardier has launched a new maintenance offering for government and military operators of its Challenger- and Global-series business jets. The Smart Services Defense (SSD) programme provides cost-per-flight-hour coverage of airframe system components, landing gear overhaul, and options to meet customer needs, the company said in a 19 February statement.
The programme is intended for Bombardier Defense special mission, medical evacuation (MEDEVAC), head of state, and government operators, offering customisation based on end-user capabilities, personnel, and infrastructure requirements, including the requirements of high-utilisation rates or unique operating profiles, the statement said.
There are around 500 specialised Bombardier Defense aircraft in service around the world, which have more than three million fleet hours with 160 operators in over 50 countries, according to the company.
The SSD programme is the latest in Bombardier's cost-per-flight-hour offerings, which began around 35 years ago with its Smart Parts programme, Guillaume Landrivon, vice-president for Smart Services and Programs at Bombardier Aviation, told Janes
15 March 2024
by Jeremy Binnie
A Bayraktar Akıncı takes off with a Roketsan Çakir cruise missile for the test-firing announced on 1 March. (Baykar)
The Baykar Bayraktar Akıncı unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is carrying out firing trials with versions of the Roketsan MAM-L and MAM-T guided bombs that can be used against targets concealed by cloud cover, the UAV's Turkish manufacturer announced on 15 March.
Both the MAM-L, which is the standard munition for Baykar's UAVs, and the MAM-T, a small glide bomb, usually use semi-active laser guidance, but the company said it was testing a MAM-L with a television (TV) seeker and a MAM-T with an imaging infrared (IIR) seeker.
Baykar released a video showing two MAM-Ls being loaded on the inner and middle hardpoints on the left wing of an Akıncı at Baykar's Çorlu facility, while the aircraft's right wing was shown with two smaller MAM-C guided bombs on its outer hardpoint and a MAM-T on its middle hardpoint. The inner hardpoints on both sides were loaded with general-purpose bombs that appeared to be fitted with glide kits.
14 March 2024
by Akhil Kadidal & Raghuraman C S
The Indian Air Force's No 18 Squadron at Sulur Air Force Station operated 20 HAL Tejas FOC Mk 1 aircraft, such as this aircraft (LA-5018). This is a representative photo of the Tejas FOC Mk 1. (HAL)
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has reported its first loss of a Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk 1 fighter aircraft to an air crash on 12 March.
The IAF said in a statement that the aircraft had crashed during an “operational training sortie”. According to the air force, the pilot “ejected safely”. The IAF added that a “court of inquiry has been constituted to find out the cause of the accident”.
A seven-second video of the incident, which was circulated on X (formerly Twitter), shows that the pilot ejected at an altitude of about 1,500–2,000 ft. The video imagery shows the fighter aircraft continuing to glide unattended before it passes out of the video frame.
A Janes
Turkey has airlifted additional Baykar Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) to Ukra...
In this podcast we revisit the conflict in Israel -Gaza. We explain how using open source intelligence and applying Janes tradecraft allows us to track the situation, its actors, the equipment being used and the implications on neighbouring cou...
Listen now