The Bayraktar TB2 is a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations.

[6][7] Turkey has used the drone extensively in strikes on Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and People's Protection Units (YPG) targets in Iraq and Syria.

Bombardier Recreational Products, owner of Rotax, suspended delivery of their engines to certain countries in October 2020, after becoming aware of their military use despite being certified for civil use only.

[21][22] According to the British newspaper The Guardian, the arming of the Bayraktar TB2 would not have been possible without the help of the UK Hornet micro-munitions bomb rack by EDO MBM Technology Ltd.

[23] In response to The Guardian newspaper article, Baykar Chief Technical Officer Selçuk Bayraktar denied that the bomb rack came from the UK.

That triggered the stopping of MX-15D exports to Turkey while an investigation by Global Affairs Canada evaluates the use of Canadian technology in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

[33] However, the majority of Baykar's customers—including Ukraine, Poland, Morocco, and Kuwait—declined to purchase the Aselsan CATS electro-optical turret and opted to order the Wescam MX-15D through an authorized distributor.

The GCS is equipped with redundant air conditioners and nuclear, biological, and chemical filtration (NBC) filtering units.

[39] The electronic power supply for the onboard systems is supported with triple alternators and balanced, smart lithium-ion battery units.

[39] Baykar has not stated a price, but has republished on its website several news reports about crowdfunding campaigns launched in 2022 in Europe to buy Bayraktar UAVs for Ukraine, all of them fixing a goal of around US$5–5.5 million for the unit.

[42] The Turkish military's use of the TB2 gained prominence in counterinsurgency operations against sites of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and People's Protection Units (YPG) that were in Iraq and Syria.

[8][9][10][11] On 30 June 2018, one Turkish Air Force Bayraktar TB2 crashed due to technical problems in Hatay province, Turkey.

[8] On 15 August 2018, Turkish Land Forces successfully used a Bayraktar TB2 in a joint cross-border operation, of the Turkish Armed Forces and the National Intelligence Organization of Turkey, to kill the senior (PKK) leader and board member of the Kurdistan Communities Union İsmail Özden in Sinjar District, northwestern Iraq.

The drones have been instrumental in providing continuous updates and data to the crisis-response team for damage detection and search-and-rescue support, along with coordination activities.

[48] In March 2020 Bayraktar TB2s, Anka-S UAVs, and an array of Koral electronic jammers were deployed and extensively used in coordinated action to strike Syrian army targets on the ground during Operation Spring Shield, launched by Turkey following losses the Turkish forces incurred at the hands of the Russian forces in northwestern Syria at the end of February 2020.

[60][61] On 22 October 2021, Turkey struck the Syrian town of Ayn al-Arab using Bayraktar TB2s, destroying several vehicles and killing a passenger of a car, a suspected member of a Kurdish rebel group.

Video evidence, as early as 11 June 2019, showed at least one TB2 flying over Tripoli[65] about to land at Mitiga International Airport's military section, under control of GNA-allied forces.

[100] Azerbaijan used TB2s to destroy Armenian artillery, infantry positions, and military vehicles, including BM-30 Smerch MLRS, T-72 tanks, and BMP-1 and BMP-2 IFVs.

[106][107] In January 2019, Baykar signed an agreement with Ukrspetsproject, part of Ukroboronprom, for the purchase of six TB2s and 3 ground control stations worth US$69 million for the Ukrainian army.

[114][115] In October 2021, a TB2 drone was used for the first time in combat during the war, targeting a Russian separatist artillery position, destroying a D-30 howitzer, and halting the bombardment of Ukrainian troops near Hranitne.

[117] In January, prior to the invasion, the spokesperson for the air force command, Lt. Col. Yuri Ihnat, stated that "Ukraine has approximately 20 Bayraktar drones, but we will not stop there".

[124][125][126] On 24 February, the day of invasion, four Bayraktar TB2 drones stationed at Chuhuiv Air base were abandoned and later destroyed on the ground by Ukrainian Forces, amid reported Russian rocket attacks.

Upon learning this, Baykar will give a Bayraktar TB2 to Lithuania free of charge and asks those funds go to Ukraine for humanitarian aid.

On 28 June, Defence Minister Reznikov announced that Baykar would be devoting all of its capacities to meet the needs of the Ukrainian armed forces, fulfilling its requirement for "dozens more" of the aircraft.

[153] In July 2022, Haluk Bayraktar, CEO of Baykar, stated in an interview that his company would never supply Russia with its drones as he supports Ukraine's sovereignty and independence.

The disorganized Russians were initially slow to set up proper air defenses; but once they did, Ukrainian UAVs were downed with increasing frequency.

[155] On 25 July, a military expert told the BBC that the slow speed and medium altitudes of Bayraktar drones made them easy targets for Russian air defenses, and that many were shot down.

[160] The commander of the Russian Air Defense Force, Lieutenant General Andrey Demin, claimed in April 2023 that Russia had shot down "more than 100" Bayraktar drones since the war began.

[166] However, Colonel Volodymyr Valiukh, a commander in Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate, reported in late October 2023 that TB2 drones are now rarely used and only for short-time reconnaissance missions because of more sophisticated Russian air defense and electronic warfare systems.

Satellite images have shown TB2 drones in Harar Meda airbase, and debris of MAM-L guided munition have been found in Tigray.