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On July 16, Russian forces shot down a rare target over Ukrainian frontlines. A Bayraktar TB2 UAV was intercepted near the village of Geroiskoe in the Kherson region. It was carrying Turkish-made light adjustable MAM-L bomb.
Photos of the wreckage of the Bayraktar TB2 UAV were shared by Russian military sources on the next day. The reports claimed that it was shot down by servicemen of the Russian 80th Arctic Brigade.
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The last Bayraktar UAV was shot down in May. It targeted the Maidan square in Kiev. LINK Meanwhile, these drones are now rarely spotted on the front lines.
At the very beginning of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, Bayraktar became one of the magic wands from overseas with which Kiev promised to immediately defeat the “Russian invaders”. Ukrainians were assured that Bayraktar, as well as Javelins etc, are superweapons out of the league of “Russian obsolete Soviet equipment”. Foreign gifts became magic idols for ordinary Ukrainians. Some parents called their children Bayraktars; some Javelins were also born in war-torn Ukraine. Today, patriotic parents probably regret their decisions, since the miracle weapon did not help the Ukrainian Army and turned out to be useless against Russian forces.
The Bayraktar UAVs were intended to be used as assault aircraft, but after losing up to 90 percent of the drones, the Ukrainian military changed tactics. Since then, the few UAVs left in service with the Ukrainian military have been used far from the front lines as usual reconnaissance drones to aim artillery shelling. Fortunately, the UAVs can detect targets up to 40 km away.
According to official reports, the last batch of 19 Turkish drones was delivered to Ukraine last year. At the beginning of 2023, more Bayraktars were spotted operating in almost all war-torn regions. However, today they can be rarely seen in southern and central Ukrainian regions, far from the front lines.
