Baykar will equip its drones with air-to-air missiles to work against Iranian kamikaze drones

Baykar has announced that its Bayraktar TB2 and Akıncıs drones will be equipped with air-to-air missiles to work against the Iranian kamikaze drones and “other hostile aircraft” Russia is using in Ukraine, Daily Sabah cites DPA.

“Soon our Bayraktar TB2 and Akıncıs will have air-to-air missiles; not only to engage drones but other enemy aircraft… we are conducting our tests,” Haluk Bayraktar said during the SAHA Expo defence fair in Istanbul.

During the fair, a contract was signed between Turkish rocket and missile-making giant Roketsan and Baykar for the integration of the Sungur air defence missiles to combat drones.

Sungur is “a proven ammunition, especially against moving targets such as helicopters and drones. Using it from our unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as an air-to-air missile will be a game changer,” Murat Ikinci, Roketsan general manager said at the fair.

The integration of such missiles to Akıncı and Bayraktar TB2 combat drones can lead to the creation of a low-cost air patrol concept in eliminating threats such as attack helicopters and enemy drones, including kamikaze drones, instead of using high-cost air-to-air missiles, Daily Sabah believes.

A week ago, The Washington Post reported, citing its sources, that Iran had struck a deal with Russia on the supply of Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar ballistic missiles to Russia, along with dozens of Muhajer-6 drones and “a large number” of Shahed-136 kamikaze drones. The newspaper also reported that Iranian instructors had been sent to Ukraine’s occupied territories to train Russian soldiers to use the equipment.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine reported taking down a Shahed-136 kamikaze drone on 13 September for the first time. The Ukrainian territory has been under constant attack by those drones ever since.