France must step up its game and expand and develop its drone fleet to keep up with the times and defend itself at home and on the battlefield, warned a report that is set to be presented by the Senate Defense Committee on Wednesday.
Presenting Turkey’s success across the world, the report went on to say: “Several recent conflicts, not only the Nagorno-Karabakh war in 2020 but also the fighting in Libya in September 2019 and the Turkish campaign in northern Syria in March 2020 have been marked by the massive use of tactical drones and small drones.”
It urges the country to invest in “inexpensive and expendable drones” such as Israel China, Turkey and Iran have which “foreshadow the conflicts of tomorrow, where drones will be omnipresent.”
Turkey’s drone strategy has garnered worldwide praise, prompting many countries to reassess their defense strategies in light of Ankara’s recent success in altering the balance on the battlefield in Libya, Syria and Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Bayraktar TB2 armed UAV, which was developed and manufactured by Turkish defense company Baykar Technologies, has been used by the Turkish Armed Forces and the country’s Security Directorate since 2015, most recently credited for Azerbaijan’s military success in the Karabakh conflict.
The TB2 armed UAV was developed for tactical reconnaissance and surveillance missions; it can also carry ammo and conduct assaults with a laser-target designator.
Turkish drones cost between $1 million to 2$ million each, while the British army is said to spend over $20 million on one drone alone, according to a report by the Guardian.
The report cited a quote by Ben Wallace, the U.K. defense secretary, who said that Turkish TB2 drones were an example of how other countries were now “leading the way.”
