14 Jan in 8:34 Washington Times
Azerbaijan’s successful use of drones during its recent war with Armenia, specialists say, has captured the attention of military leaders around the world and accelerated a move toward a generation of unmanned aerial vehicles that are smaller, cheaper and easier to operate, Washington Times writes in the article Smaller, cheaper drones have outsized impact on the future of war.
Even the leaders of major Western military powers such as Britain have signaled a coming shift in their drone strategies after watching Azerbaijani aircraft rain destruction on Armenian troops and traditional ground combat vehicles during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict this fall.
Many of those medium-sized Azerbaijani aircraft were purchased from Turkey and belong to the Group 3 classification of drones. Group 4 and Group 5 drones include much larger and better-known examples such as the Predator, Global Hawk and Reaper, all deployed extensively by the U.S. military over the past two decades.
Those large drones, analysts say, still have a role to play in combat, but smaller and cheaper alternatives, such as the Turkish TB2, which can cost just a few million dollars, are increasingly appealing and increasingly effective.
“I think there’s a trend globally in militaries to develop or purchase these smaller, tactical Group 3 types of drones. You can purchase more of them [for less money] than it would take to purchase Group 4 or Group 5, and they serve more applications,” said Michael Blades, vice president of aerospace, defense and security at the leading research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.