Arabian Aerospace – Libyas deadly drone game

Turkey has supported the Tripoli-based National Accord Government (GNA), recognized by the United Nations as the government of Libya.
The GNA attempts to stem the advances of the Libyan National Army (LNA) of Benghazi, led by Khalifa Haftar and supported by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and supported by the United States.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a supporter of factions of the Muslim Brotherhood in the GNA. With Qatar, he contributed to the development of the organization in Egypt in 2011, before it was crushed.
This has seen Turkey and Qatar sidelined by former Arab allies, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The latter, alongside Egypt, do not want Erdogan, funded by the Qataris, to do the same in Libya.
Ukraine has joined Turkey and Qatar and, according to one source, is now a huge source of weapons.
Against the background of old helicopters and unusable combat aircraft, the GNA and the LNA resorted to fighting with armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
The Bayraktar TB2, operated by Turkey but purchased by Qatar, is the GNA's drone of choice. The drones were said to have been delivered aboard a ship in May, then divided between Misurata and Tripoli-Metiga, Turkish personnel operating them.
As early as June 21, the Libyan Address Journal reported that eight GNA pilots traveled to Turkey to learn how to use the Bayraktar UAS, although 12 others refused.
The Israeli drone Orbiter-3, manufactured by Aeronautics, was also operated by the GNA, two of the three allegedly delivered to the GNA having been shot down in late July. The Orbiter-3 can stay in the air for up to seven hours and is used in intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) missions. The drone was probably supplied by another support country.
On the other hand, ANL troops are supported by Wing Loong II, acquired from China by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The aircraft has been heavily modified with a Thales data link system and Israeli optics.
Since April, when Haftar began its march on Tripoli, the Bayraktar and Wing Loong II have been involved in major attacks.
On July 25, several Bayraktars were used to attack and then destroy two Ilyushin Il-76 military transport aircraft operated by the Ukrainian airline Air Europe, at Al Jufra air base. A hangar was also destroyed at the base, which served as the main relay for ANL supporters of General Haftar.
Haftar is also said to have lost many of his senior officers in the attack.
The ANL took revenge on August 6, when at least one Wing Loong II fired and destroyed another Il-76 registered Ukraine, operated by Cargo Alfa Air. The aircraft had landed at Misrata Air Base from Ankara at around 10:30 p.m. with ammunition and UAVs when it was hit.
The ANL attacked Misrata twice on August 15 and 16 because, it is said, the Turks have a large presence from where drones are supposed to operate. A warehouse, housing Turkish unmanned aerial combat vehicles, was completely destroyed, according to the ANL.
Meanwhile, the attack has been condemned by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) due to the destruction of the airport and the possible loss of civilian life.
In an important step in the drone war, a Wing Loong II, operated by the United Arab Emirates, was shot down by an anti-drone system on August 4.
When flying over an armed mission over Misrata, it suddenly fell and crashed into the desert, after being targeted by an anti-drone system.
I understand that the Turkish Air Force has used Boeing E-7Ts off the coast of Libya to provide Signal Intelligence (SIGINT) capabilities to Turkish forces on the ground. These devices follow the Wing Loongs, which allows Turkish anti-drone systems to be deployed to block and drop them.
It is not known which system was used, although Aselsan, one of the main defense companies in Turkey, has among its product range, the economical hand-held anti-drone jammer of the HASAVAR system.
With the proliferation of these armed drones, the race to acquire anti-drone weapons is now under way. While the UAE Wing Loongs are launched in Libya, they are in fact controlled by operators at ground control stations in the UAE.
The Bayraktar TB2 is the most efficient native armed unmanned aerial system built in Turkey. After producing the prototype Tactical Block 1 (TB-1) earlier in 2005, the Istanbul-based company Bayraktar chose to develop a variant TB-2 for the military, which made its first flight in June 2009 .
The first 12 were delivered in two batches – six in November 2014 and six more in June 2015. Initially, they were used for the reconnaissance surveillance intelligence (ISR) role with the military, which began to test an armed version in December 2015, with the first shot in June 2016.
Bayraktar general manager Lufti Bayraktar said: "Since the army first fired in combat, there has never been any collateral damage. The high quality imagery by the L3 Wescam MX-15D easily distinguishes armed militias from civilians. And the weapon is small, so the impact area is small. "
Weight being a critical factor, Roketsan designed the smart mini-ammunition (MAM) with the laser version (MAM-L) now mounted under the UAS. The drone was initially equipped with two pylons, but two others have since been added.
Without weapons, it can fly 24 hours; with a full payload of weapons for 14 hours. "But it's still a lot," said Bayraktar.
On July 16 and 17 of this year, a Bayraktar TB2 achieved a milestone by flying for 27 hours and three minutes during a demonstration in Kuwait.
It is believed that there are 86 armed Bayraktar TB2 operated by the General Command of the Turkish Gendarmerie, the Directorate General of the Security Forces and the National Intelligence Organization (MIT).
Ukraine and Qatar have also purchased the Bayraktar TB2, the latter probably sending them to Libya. Qatar invests a lot of money in Turkish systems and Turkey exploits them.
The Bayraktar company was developing a 5-6 ton UAS, but has been discreet about its work since entering the Libyan theater of operations.
The Bayraktar drone was put into service in Syria against Daesh, and its MX-15D electro-optical / infrared (EO / IR) turret can be "lasered" for attack platforms. However, in Libya, he is supposed to do all the work himself.
China has made great strides with its customers in the Middle East and North Africa. AVIC Wing Loong (Pterodactyl) II is highly sought after.
To date, the China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation (CATIC) has two customers for the unmanned combat vehicle, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The WL II has a total armed payload of 480 kg covering three hard points under each wing. Up to 100 kg of weapons can be loaded on both indoors, and up to 50 kg outdoors.
The 50 kg Blue Arrow-7 (BA-7) anti-armor was, until recently, the weapon of choice and played a major role in customer campaigns, destroying vans, etc. .
But CATIC has reportedly started replacing them with smaller 16 kg TL-2 bombs, and the two internal weapon pylons can carry three rounds of ammunition each. An AITIC spokesperson said: "You don't need weapons as large as the 50 kg BA-7 to hit vehicles, and with TL-2s on board, Wing Loong II can fly more than 20 hours. "
CATIC is also planning to integrate the TY-90 air-to-air missile into the external hard spots of the WLII, which will give the UAV the opportunity to shoot down helicopters. These attributes should sound the alarm for the GNA.
Another option could be the laser-guided 50 kg AG300 / M bomb, filled with a 26 kg warhead with a longer reach than the BA-7, which has only one warhead from 8 to 9 kg.
CATIC added: "When firing the BA-7, the WLII must decrease its height, while the AG300 / M does not do so because of its longer range. Thus, the WLII does not need to descend into the range of weapons that are fired at it. "
The United Arab Emirates have made significant changes to Wing Loong IIs for their operations. The data link has been improved with a Thales system, and the electro-optics has been improved by the Israelis. They are controlled by controllers in the UAE.