Inside Ukraine’s ‘cheap and slow’ drones laying waste to Russian armour

In the fight against Russian soldiers, Ukraine has an unexpected ace in its sleeve in the form of a reasonably inexpensive drone.

Despite being fairly rudimentary in comparison to other technology, the small Turkish-made unmanned vehicle has become something of a favourite.

Videos of the Bayraktar TB2 destroying Russian missile launchers on the ground have surfaced on the internet.

It has gotten so popular and successful that a song has been written about it.

In Kyiv, a puppy training programme with police has been named after the drone.

The unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are expected to cost around $5 million (£3.8 million), which is far less than Israel’s Heron, which costs $10 million (£7.6 million), and US drones, which cost over $20 million (£15.3 million).

Not only that, they’re slower and smaller.

So how have they managed to become such a success?

“It’s quite startling to see all these videos of Bayraktars apparently knocking out Russian surface-to-air missile batteries, which are exactly the kind of system that’s equipped to shoot them down,” drone expert David Hambling told NBC News.

“It is literally a World War I aircraft, in terms of performance.

“It’s got a 110-horsepower engine. It is not stealthy. It is not supersonic. It’s a clay pigeon — a real easy target.”

He added: “It may be massive incompetence by the Russians. It may be that the Ukrainians have discovered some sneaky tactics they can use.”

Ukraine’s military minister announced earlier this month that the country had received another cargo of drones.

Baykar Technology is the firm behind the technology.

Selçuk Bayraktar, the son-in-law of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoan, is one of their senior commanders.

Turkey, careful to avoid taking sides in the war, stated that the drone was a “product purchased by Ukraine” rather than “help from Turkey.”

“The fact that it has become one of the Ukrainian military’s main deterrent elements actually shows the success and quality of the products produced by our company,” Yavuz Selim Kiran, Turkey’s deputy foreign minister, told the Daily Sabah.

“Everyone is waiting in line to buy the UAVs.”