Military Africa
  • Contact
  • Services
  • About
    • Our Amazing Team
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Disclaimer
    • Cookies Policy
    • Advertising Policies
    • Privacy Policy
  • SUPPORT MILITARY AFRICA
Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Advertisement
  • Magazines
  • Advertise
  • Press Release
No Result
View All Result
  • Magazines
  • Advertise
  • Press Release
No Result
View All Result
Military Africa
No Result
View All Result
Home UAS and C-UAS

Mali Bayraktar TB2 arrives but without Canadian sub-system

The Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 track terrorists in Mali as effectively as the American-made MQ-9 Reaper combat drones the French military use

Ekene Lionel by Ekene Lionel
January 4, 2023
in UAS and C-UAS
Reading Time: 3 mins read
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Mali is now the latest country to acquire Bayraktar TB2 combat drones from Turkey in order to strengthen its military counter-insurgent capabilities.

On December 22, the Malian state TV aired footage showing at least two newly delivered Bayraktar TB2 drones and a mobile ground control station being presented to the minister of defense Sadio Camara at an air base in Mopti.

The video showed a Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drone being operated from the Sévaré air base in the central region of Mali. The crew operating the ground control station and the drone’s ISR capabilities were also shown.

Advertisements

You Might Also Like

Angola buys Aksungur combat drone from Turkey

Russia’s Orion drone with proven air-to-air capabilities

Sudan’s MIC unveils Kamin-25 UAV-launched loitering munition

However, the Malian Air Force Bayraktar TB2 are equipped with the Turkish-made Aselsan CATS camera turret, the replacement for the L3 Wescam MX-15 camera after Canada blocked export of Wescam products to Turkey.

After export of the Wescam MX-15 camera from Canada to Turkey was blocked last year by the Canadian government, Bayraktar TB2 UAVs now use the Aselsan CATS camera unless the customer chooses otherwise.

Ethiopian Bayraktar TB2 also uses the CATS camera instead of the Canadian K3 Wescam MX-15 camera.

At IDEF 2021, Alselsan displayed its CATS electro-optical reconnaissance, surveillance and targeting pods.

ASELSAN’s airborne electro-optical reconnaissance, surveillance and targeting pods CATS use high-end technologies and employ different sensors in one compact design. These state-of-the-art solutions fulfill all the requirements of pilotage/navigation, surveillance, search-and-rescue, automatic tracking, surface target classification and targeting.

CATS is a cutting-edge technology common aperture targeting system on a 4-axis stabilized gimbal with superior range and image performance. It is composed of infrared (thermal) camera, day visual camera, low light near-infrared (LL-NIR) camera, laser range finder and designator unit, laser pointer and illuminator unit (LPI).

Additionally, it provides critical capabilities such as multi target tracking, simultaneous target tracking on IR, HDTV and LL-NIR videos, accurate target geo-location, determination of direction and speed of moving targets.

The Bayraktar TB2 has a wingspan of 12 meters, endurance of 24 hours, and a mission range of 150 km. It is powered by a Rotax 912 engine.

In West Africa, Mali is the fifth country to acquire Bayraktar TB2 combat drones from Turkish manufacturer Baykar after Libya, Nigér, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Togo and Burkina Faso, Djibouti, and Morocco.

Mali has been working to strengthen its military capabilities since the withdrawal of French troops from its territory and the end of Operation Barkhane. Besides Turkey, the country has been mainly cooperating with Russia, which supplied in September fighter jets and helicopters to help combat terrorist groups.

The Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 track terrorists in Mali as effectively as the American-made MQ-9 Reaper combat drones the French military use. Nevertheless, the lack of proper communications and reliable intelligence could be problematic.

In addition to these TB-2 drones, Mali has also received from Russia, several aircraft, including four L-39C Albatros, two helicopters [a Mil Mi-24P and Mil Mi-8] and two Su-25 “Frogfoot” attack aircraft, one of which was lost in October. These aircraft are piloted by Wagner personnel.

Recommended posts

Tags: BaykarMaliUAV

Join 154,765 others in receiving our trusted defence news

Unsubscribe

Related News

aksungur drone angola

Angola buys Aksungur combat drone from Turkey

March 18, 2023
Mali air force L-39C and Bayraktar TB2 drone

Mali receives additional L-39C Albatros and Bayraktar TB2

March 17, 2023
Orion drone

Russia’s Orion drone with proven air-to-air capabilities

March 10, 2023
Sudanese kamin-25 loitering munition was unveiled during the IDEX 2023 in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Sudan’s MIC unveils Kamin-25 UAV-launched loitering munition

March 9, 2023
ADVERTISEMENT
Angola will be the new user of AKSUNGUR Armed Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UCAV), developed by Turkey, Ömer Yıldız, Deputy General Manager of TUSAŞ UAV Systems said to CNN TÜRK last week. He also stated that 8 AKSUNGUR UAVs have been produced so far.

This state-of-the-art Aksungur unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has been specifically designed for the purpose of providing aerial surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as the potential to carry out targeted strikes.
Load More... Subscribe

Facebook

ADVERTISEMENT
No Result
View All Result
  • Magazines
  • Advertise
  • Press Release

© 2022 Military Africa

Go to mobile version