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Ukraine's first Bayraktar TB2 strike in Donbas
Summary
A retrospective on the day Ukraine confirmed its first combat use of a Turkish-made armed drone against separatist artillery.
What did Ukraine's first armed drone strike in Donbas achieve? On 26 October 2021, Ukraine confirmed that it had carried out its first strikes using the Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2, destroying a D-30 howitzer operated by pro-Russian separatists.
The confirmation marked the first reported combat use of the TB2 by Ukraine in the war in Donbas. The howitzer was the only target named in the report.
The same day brought a reminder of the cost of the conflict on the ground. A Ukrainian soldier was killed and another wounded by rebel artillery near Hranitne in Donetsk Oblast.
A wider field of drone warfare
The TB2 is an unmanned combat aerial vehicle, a category of remotely piloted armed aircraft within the broader field of drone warfare. Ukraine had already been identified as a nation with operational unmanned combat aerial vehicles as of 2019, alongside Turkey and a number of other states.
The strike on the D-30 and the deaths and injuries near Hranitne were reported together on 26 October 2021, showing both a new tool in Ukraine's hands and the continuing artillery fire along the line of contact.
