Outmanned, outgunned, and relying on sheer willpower to repel Russiaxe2x80x99s invading armies, Ukrainexe2x80x99s soldiers may have one big ace up their sleeve.

The Bayraktar TB2 drone, with a wingspan of 12 meters (472 inches) and equipped to carry four laser-guided bombs, has disabled multiple launch rocket systems as well as taken out columns of armored tanks and personnel transporters from the air, seemingly with impunity.

To bolster their esprit de corps and demoralize the enemy, Volodymyr Zelenskyyxe2x80x99s defending troops have been uploading videos to social media taunting Russian troops with tales of the Bayraktar TB2xe2x80x99s lethal strikes executed out of the blue.

A lemur born in Kyiv zoo was even given the name Bayraktar in tribute to the drone, as revealed by the mayor of the capital and former world heavyweight champion, Vitaly Klitschko, on Telegram.

Turkeyxe2x80x99s very first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) may not be anywhere near as state-of-the-art as General Atomicsxe2x80x99 MQ-9 Reaper or SkyGuardian drones. Yet its appeal lies in a brutally efficient cost-benefit ratio on the battlefield.xc2xa0

At a price tag estimated to be as little as $1 million, these aircraft are easily expendable compared with other high-tech armaments. And while they have a range typically limited to 150 km (93 miles), they can loiter in the air for over 24 hours, waiting for the right moment to strike.

xe2x80x9cIt gives Ukraine a new, qualitative edge over the enemy,xe2x80x9d Lt. Col. Yuri Ignat, spokesman for the countryxe2x80x99s Air Force Command,xc2xa0told Al-Monitor in an interviewxc2xa0prior to the invasion. He claimed there were about 20 such UAVs at its disposal, xe2x80x9cbut we will not stop there.xe2x80x9dxc2xa0xc2xa0

The drones are courtesy of Turkish defense contractor Baykar Makina, which says 257 are currently in service worldwide. The company also enjoys a direct link to the top echelon of Ankaraxe2x80x99s leadership: One of thexc2xa0late founderxe2x80x99sxc2xa0two sons who run the company is married to President Recep Tayyip Erdoxc4x9fanxe2x80x99s younger daughter.

Selling like hotcakes

First sold to Turkeyxe2x80x99s own military eight years ago, the TB2 proved its worth largely out of sight from Western media during combat missions first in Syria and later Libya in 2020.

It proved so effective against Armenian troops in the disputed Caucasus region of Nagorno-Karabakh that Azerbaijanxe2x80x99s head of state personally distinguished Baykar with an award for its contribution. Thanks to the dronexe2x80x99s success, Baykar says it ended up exporting UAVs worth $360 million dollars in 2020.

Having changed the course of three separate conflicts that year,xc2xa0French daily Le Mondexc2xa0remarked last July that TB2s were xe2x80x9cselling like hotcakes.xe2x80x9d U.K. defense minister Ben Wallace weighed their purchase even though he had already spent $20 million a piece on SkyGuardian UAVs from General Atomics.xc2xa0

Last May, Poland became the first EU member state to add the TB2 to its military arsenal, acquiring four systems of six drones each for a total of 24 unmanned aircraft. Only weeks later, Latviaxe2x80x99s defense minister hinted it may soon follow. It was Ukraine, however, that proved to be the very first customer to recognize the TB2xe2x80x99s value and import the technology.xc2xa0

In economic terms, conventional forces are struggling to keepxc2xa0pace with advances in drone warfare.xc2xa0Most ground-to-air defense systems are typically expensive and designed to protect against threats like high-impact ordnance and combat jets rather than small, expendable UAVs.

Balancing act

In one well-known example thatxc2xa0gave the Pentagonxe2x80x99s top brass pause for thought,xc2xa0a U.S. ally shot down a tiny, off-the-shelf drone likely ordered from a catalog with a $3 million Patriot missile.

xe2x80x9cIf Ixe2x80x99m the enemy,xe2x80x9d warned American Gen. David Perkins back in 2017, xe2x80x9cIxe2x80x99m thinking, xe2x80x98Hey, Ixe2x80x99m going to get on eBay and buy as many of thesexc2xa0$300xc2xa0quadcopters as I can and expend all the Patriot missiles out there.xe2x80x99xe2x80x9d

With the latest addition to Baykarxe2x80x99s drone program, thexc2xa0higher-altitudexc2xa0Akxc4xb1ncxc4xb1xc2xa0B, Erdoxc4x9fan boasted his was now xe2x80x9cone of the three most advanced countries in the world in this technology.xe2x80x9dxc2xa0

The TB2xe2x80x99s success also highlights the delicate balancing act played by Turkey, a NATO member that straddles Europe and Asia. Invoking wartime clauses in a treaty that grants it power over the Bosporus strait, Turkey managed to shut down access to the Black Sea for incoming naval ships without triggering the ire of Moscow.

By helping the Ukrainians while maintaining faith with the Russians, Erdoxc4x9fan may come out the xe2x80x9cbiggest winnerxe2x80x9d in the conflict, remarked Turkey expert and Brooklyn College associate professor Louis Fishmanxc2xa0in a column for Israelxe2x80x99s Haaretzxc2xa0published Wednesday.

Lauren Kahn, a research fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, argues the TB2xe2x80x99s value will likely decrease over time. Having seemingly underestimated the armed resistance they would face, Russia should be expected to deploy its full defensive capabilities, including cyberattacks, against the Turkish drone.

xe2x80x9cBayraktar TB2s are slow, large, low-flying, and radio-controlled, making them comparatively easy targets for more sophisticated, layered air defense systems and electronic warfare capabilities,xe2x80x9d Kahn wrote on Wednesday.xc2xa0

Altered the nature of war

Not all Western pundits have been happy to see Baykarxe2x80x99s international success, however. Last August, over two dozen representatives from the U.S. Congress pushed Secretary of State Antony Blinken to suspend export licenses for U.S. technology they argued was finding its way into the Turkish companyxe2x80x99s drones.

The proliferation of expendable UAVs in combat has the potential to disrupt the defense industryxe2x80x99s entire playing field, economically speaking, argued Andrew Milburn.

The senior fellow with the Middle East Institutexe2x80x99s Defense and Security Program fears defense contractors are ill suited to develop countermeasures should such drones be deployed against American soldiers and believes a solution to the threat will only be solved in Silicon Valley rather than in the xe2x80x9ccubicle warrensxe2x80x9d of Lockheed Martin or Raytheon.xc2xa0

xe2x80x9cDespite its emergence as an inanimate hero of the Ukraine conflict, the story of the TB2, and its employment by various actors over the last three years, brings with it a dire warning for the U.S. military,xe2x80x9d he wrote. xe2x80x9cIt is Turkey, with a defense budget a fraction of the U.S.xe2x80x99s, that has demonstrated how unmanned platforms changed the nature of modern war.xe2x80x9d