Ukrainian Naval Forces have received and started testing its first batch of Turkish Bayraktar TB2 combat drones.
According to the Commander of the Ukrainian Navy Oleksiy Neizhpapa, the aircraft are going to be used to patrol the region of Black and Azov seas, as well as to direct the strikes of Neptune anti-ship missiles.
The batch, which reached Ukraine on June 14, included four aircraft (fuselage numbers 72, 73, 74 and 76), as well as a mobile command center.
Bayraktar TB2 is also capable of carrying and deploying a range of armament, including precision-guided missiles and bombs. According to the Ukrainian Navy, this exact model of the drone has a range of 300 kilometers (186 miles), which is twice more than on the standard configuration.
The aircraft has an endurance of 24 hours and a service ceiling of 8,200 meters (27,000 feet).
A decision to arm Ukrainain Army and Navy with Bayraktar drones was announced in 2019. Since then, a fleet of TB2s were delivered to the Army.
Bayraktar TB2 is one of several Turkish drones Azerbaijan used to great effect in the Nagorno-Karabakh war in 2020 to carry out air strikes and reconnaissance missions.