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By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans
It
is not often that a weapon system is proving so popular that
countries are waiting in line to buy it. Ironically, this appears to be
the current situation with the Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial
vehicle (UCAV). Already in service with or on order by 31 countries
other than Türkiye, the TB2's commercial success currently looks to be
without bounds. With new export agreements being signed with more
countries to this day, there is little doubt that the TB2 will go down in history as world's most successful UCAV both in
terms of export clients and numbers sold. In this capacity it is now
consistently beating its main two competitors on the drone market of
China and Israel, whose products though more attractive than expensive
(and exclusive) Western wares or underperforming and politically-laden
Iranian ones have shown their own deficiencies. The TB2's success should come as little surprise to those that examined the system in
combat, as the TB2 is arguably the first UCAV that manages to combine
reliability and affordability with devastatingly effective results on
the battlefield: a capability keenly looked for in the 21st century.