The world has entered the age of drone warfare, with countries across the globe accelerating efforts to integrate the latest technologies, like Artificial Intelligence, into their unmanned flying machines. The latest to join this club is Turkey, with its next-generation Bayraktar TB-2T AI drone.
The world started taking notice of Baykar’s prowess when its Bayraktar TB-2 shot to fame in the September 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War between Azerbaijan and Armenia, where it wreaked havoc on the Armenian troops. Later, the TB-2 drone’s combat performance in Ukraine also sparked international interest, and buyers quickly lined up to place orders.
Baykar has since upgraded the TB2 drone to add more teeth to its combat capability. The manufacturer recently showed off a new, next-generation variant of the drone, the TB-2T AI, which comes equipped with a turbo engine and advanced artificial intelligence.
Baykar also published an enthralling video of the drone in flight on February 21.
A press release published by Baykar said: “The latest version of Bayraktar TB2, Türkiye’s first-ever indigenous unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), marks nothing short of the aircraft’s rebirth—now equipped with a turbo engine and advanced artificial intelligence.
The next-generation Bayraktar TB2T-AI, set to tilt the balance of power on the battlefield with its superior altitude, high speed, and AI-powered smart flight capabilities, has officially taken to the skies with a series of successful test flights.”
The next-generation drone is currently undergoing flight tests in Keşan. Baykar says that the new TB-2T AI drone will shift the balance of power on the battlefield. The drone boasts superior altitude, high speed, and AI-powered smart flight capabilities.
With its turbo engine, the Bayraktar TB2T-AI can reach elevations of over 30,000 feet in less than half an hour. Notably, the next-generation drone broke its altitude record during test flights in Keşan, reaching 30,318 feet.
This is a significant improvement over the previous TB2, which has an operational altitude of 16,000 feet.
With a top speed of 160 knots or 300 kilometers per hour, the Bayraktar TB2T-AI has a significant advantage over other UAVs in the air due to its ability to ascend more quickly and maintain high altitudes for longer. The new drone variant also has better speed than the previous TB2 model, which had a maximum speed of just 120 knots or 222 kilometers per hour.
Baykar asserts the UAV is expected to function more efficiently and for longer periods on the battlefield thanks to its increased maximum takeoff weight and increased payload capacity.
The most notable upgrade in the next-generation TB2 is the integration of artificial intelligence. With three integrated next-generation AI computers, the Bayraktar TB2T-AI UCAV offers enhanced autonomous capabilities for air combat. The new combat drone has also acquired the capability of conducting terrain-referenced visual cruise flights to maintain operational resilience even in the face of threats from electronic warfare.
Driven by sophisticated artificial intelligence technologies, the TB-2T AI uses optical navigation to identify topography and orient itself. It can also visually recognize runways to perform fully autonomous takeoff and landing and analyze targets for detection and identification. Its AI-powered features allow the aircraft to automatically return to base in the case of an emergency while in flight.
Baykar states that the Bayraktar TB2T-AI’s cutting-edge capabilities raise the bar for operational safety and resilience on the battlefield.
The drone likely builds upon the popularity that the TB2 enjoys worldwide. Due to its incredible export success, the Bayraktar TB2 has emerged as a symbol of the country’s burgeoning aviation sector. The drone has demonstrated exceptional combat performance across battlefields, including in the 2020 conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, the Ukraine War, and multiple African countries.
As the New Yorker said in a previous article, the TB2 brought “the tactic of the precision air strike to the developing world and reversing the course of several wars.”
The integration of AI would make the TB-2 significantly more precise, powerful, and smart by enhancing autonomous decision-making. AI technologies essentially enable drones to anticipate possible security threats, change course on the flight, and adjust to novel circumstances. Moreover, AI improves anomaly detection and response time with real-time data processing.
Most advanced militaries worldwide have been making efforts to develop and integrate AI-driven drones into their fleet. Their use has been best demonstrated in the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
Russian & Ukrainian AI Drones Killing Human Soldiers
The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has demonstrated that the rules of warfare have changed and that small drones can target big assets and cause large-scale devastation.
While both combatants started by modifying existing Soviet-era drones, developing cheap and small kamikaze drones and first-person view drones (FPVs) to hit big targets, the drone technology advanced quickly as both rivals tried to obtain a technological edge.
Both sides quickly integrated their drones with artificial intelligence software, processing power, and machine vision to identify targets. Moreover, these drones can broadcast target coordinates and leave the jamming area if necessary.
Two drones introduced into the battlefield recently, one by Ukraine and one by Russia, have aptly demonstrated how AI and machine vision are changing warfare.
The Russian Ovat-S drone, also known as “Ovod” or “Gadfly” in English, is a First Person View (FPV) kamikaze drone with an onboard computer that employs machine vision and artificial intelligence (AI) based on neural networks.
The drone uses machine vision to locate the target. Thanks to its machine vision tracking and homing capabilities, it can function under GPS denial and control channel jamming, as well as in situations where radio visibility is reduced because of low altitudes. The drone comes with a brand-new, low-cost drone ammunition shell.
The Ovat-S has a combat payload capacity of 3.5 kilograms, a flight range of about 8 kilometers, and is capable of self-destruction and remote detonation. It can fly at a cruise speed of 150 to 180 kph.
Since its initial induction, the drone has been modified based on its performance on the battlefield. Some notable upgrades include an increased payload and the incorporation of thermal imaging cameras.
The Ukrainian drone is named V-BAT. It was developed by Shield AI, a US defense technology company. The V-BAT, also known as the MQ-35 in the United States, is capable of carrying out its mission from beginning to end without the assistance of an operator. A single operator can control a minimum of five drones, as aircraft flight paths are generated autonomously in real time.
The V-BAT drone boasts a range of about 500 kilometers. In horizontal mode, it can hover above the target region for ten hours compared to the 10 to 15-minute loiter time of kamikaze drones used so far.
The V-BAT can carry up to 11.3 kg of cargo and has a 6-kilometer service range. It has Electro-optic/mid-wave infrared (MWIR) cameras in sensor fit, allowing for high-resolution photography in various illumination scenarios.
- Contact the author at sakshi.tiwari9555 (at) gmail.com
- Follow EurAsian Times on Google News
