Bayraktar TB2
Armed MALE drone · also known as TB2, Bayraktar TB2S
| Designer / manufacturer | Baykar |
|---|---|
| Countries | Türkiye |
| Production | Turkey (specific plant not stated in sources reviewed); Baykar claims 250/year capacity (Wikipedia); Italian and Ukrainian ventures announced |
| Operators | Turkey, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, 31-34 other countries (count inconsistent in Wikipedia) |
| Estimated unit cost | $1M–$5.5M per aircraft, disputed estimate (2022) · source |
| Confidence | low |
Other published estimates
| Estimate | Context | Source |
|---|---|---|
| $5M–$5.5M, reported (2022) | Crowdfunding organisers (Lithuania): 5 million euros enough for one aircraft; Wikipedia: campaigns targeted about 5-5.5 million USD per unit. Probably a system price or rounded goal. | www.rferl.org |
| $1M–$2M, estimate (2022) | Widely repeated per-aircraft estimate; origin not traced | |
| $11.5M, contract figure (2019) | Ukraine 2019: 69 million USD for 6 aircraft plus 3 ground stations = 11.5 million per aircraft including ground segment (my arithmetic) | en.wikipedia.org |
Reported characteristics
| Mass (kg) | 700 |
|---|---|
| Payload (kg) | 150 |
| Endurance (h) | 18+ (Baykar); 27 h record |
| ceilingFt | 20000 |
| enginePowerHp | 100 |
Notes
Baykar has never published a price. Contract totals include ground stations, training and support.
Who uses it and how they obtain it
How each user obtains this type, from open sources (research note of 12 October 2026). Confidence concerns the route claim: high means several independent authoritative sources or an official source; medium, one good source with supporting coverage; low, a single source, a party's claim or visual similarity only. 'Contested' means a party denies it, sources disagree, or it rests only on a party's claim. Several primary documents were only reachable through secondary coverage. This is background on the type, not evidence about any specific incident. Explanations are in English.
| User | How obtained | Explanation and sources |
|---|---|---|
| Turkey | own production Confidence: high | Developed and built by Baykar, which said in January 2023 that TB2 export contracts had been signed with 28 countries. SIPRI reports that Turkish arms exports rose 103% between 2015-19 and 2020-24. Components: Not documented in the sources found. |
| Ukraine | import / supply Confidence: high | Ukraine contracted TB2s from Baykar in 2019 and SIPRI records 12 TB2 delivered in 2019-21; Baykar also began building a plant near Kyiv (February 2024: about 120 units a year planned). No output from the Kyiv plant was confirmed in the sources found. Components: Not applicable (finished aircraft). |
| Azerbaijan | import / supply Confidence: medium | Oryx lists Azerbaijan as a TB2 operator from 2020, and SIPRI notes that TB2s were reportedly used by Azerbaijani forces in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. Purchase terms were not found. Components: Not applicable (finished aircraft). |
| Libya (Tripoli government, GNA/GNU) | import / supply Confidence: medium contested | A Reuters-based report (Al-Monitor, April 2026) says Turkey supplied TB2s to the Tripoli government, and UN Panel report S/2019/914 documented chartered flights carrying 53.6 tonnes of drone parts from Istanbul to Misrata in May-June 2019. The summary found does not say that those parts were for TB2s. Components: Drone parts and UAV components flown Istanbul to Misrata (UN Panel S/2019/914, as summarised by Stop Wapenhandel). www.al-monitor.com stopwapenhandel.org www.oryxspioenkop.com |
| Sudan (SAF) | import / supply Confidence: medium contested | Washington Post reporting (March 2025, via Euronews) describes a EUR 110.7 million contract dated 16 November 2023 between Baykar and Sudan's Defense Industries System for six TB2, three ground stations and 600 warheads, delivered via intermediaries from August 2024; other coverage speaks of at least eight TB2 in 2023. SIPRI lists Turkiye among suppliers of armed UAVs to the Sudanese army in 2021-25, and no public Baykar response was found. Components: Not applicable (finished aircraft and warheads). |
| Morocco | import / supply Confidence: medium | SIPRI reports that 19 of the 24 armed UAVs Morocco received in 2020-24 came from Turkiye, and Oryx lists the TB2 in Moroccan service from 2021. The SIPRI text does not name the type. Components: Not applicable (finished aircraft). |
| Poland | import / supply Confidence: medium | Oryx and Overt Defense list Poland among the TB2 customers (Oryx entry dated 2022). No contract details were checked. Components: Not applicable (finished aircraft). |
| Kuwait | import / supply Confidence: medium | Baykar announced a US$370 million TB2 export agreement with Kuwait's defence ministry in January 2023; delivery was not confirmed in the sources found. Components: Not applicable (finished aircraft). |
Dossiers mentioning this type
No published dossier names this type yet.
Sources
- https://baykartech.com/en/uav/bayraktar-tb2/
- https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-bayraktar-turkish-drones-explainer-conflict/31875225.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayraktar_TB2
Cost figures are published estimates from third parties and vary widely; they are not DroneLedger assessments. Corrections: About, corrections & privacy.
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