INCREASING DRONES’ COMBAT EFFECTIVENESS: AN ALTERNATIVE ANALYSIS FOR INTEGRATION INTO COMPREHENSIVE MILITARY AND TECHNOLOGICAL SYSTEMS

Year 2024, , 187 - 204, 31.01.2024

Fatih Tuna

https://doi.org/10.21550/sosbilder.1336111

Abstract

While the use of armed unmanned aerial vehicles in both international military operations and internal security operations has been increasing in recent years, debates on the role of armed unmanned aerial vehicles in the international relations literature remain limited. While some experts consider armed unmanned aerial vehicle technology as a groundbreaking or game-changing development, others argue that the impact of this technological development is limited. This study presents an alternative assessment and new suggestions for increasing the effectiveness of armed unmanned aerial vehicles in conflict zones without positioning this study on any side of the ongoing debate in the literature. This study argues that armed drones should be supported by skilled military experts and modern military and electronic systems in order to make them more effective in conflicts. In order to test the accuracy of this hypothesis, this study examines Türkiye’s intervention in the Libyan Civil War, Türkiye’s Operation Spring Shield in Syria’s Idlib province, and Türkiye’s cooperation with Azerbaijan in the 44-day Patriotic War as case studies. Ultimately, the case studies uphold the hypothesis that the deployment of skilled military experts and modern military and electronic systems to support drones in combat increases their effectiveness.

Keywords

Drone, Türkiye, Syria, Libya, Azerbaijan

SİHA’ların Muharebe Etkinliğini Artırmak: Kapsamlı Askeri ve Teknolojik Sistemlere Entegrasyon İçin Alternatif Bir Analiz

Abstract

Son yıllarda hem uluslararası askeri operasyonlar hem de sınır içi güvenlik operasyonlarında silahlı insansız hava aracı kullanımı giderek artarken uluslararası ilişkiler literatüründe ise silahlı insansız hava araçlarının rolüne ilişkin tartışmalar devam etmektedir. Uzmanların bir kısmı silahlı insansız hava aracı teknolojisini çığır açan veya ezber bozan bir gelişme olarak değerlendirirken, karşıt görüşlü uzmanlar tarafından ise bu teknolojik gelişmenin etkisinin sınırlı olacağı şeklinde değerlendirmeler yapılmaktadır. Bu çalışma ise literatürde devam eden bu tartışmanın içerisinde kendini herhangi bir tarafta konumlandırmadan silahlı insansız hava araçlarının çatışma sahnesinde etkililiğini artırmaya ilişkin olarak alternatif bir değerlendirme ve öneri sunmaktadır. Bu çalışma, silahlı insansız hava araçlarının çatışmalarda daha etkili kılınması için modern askeri ve elektronik savaş sistemlerinin yanı sıra becerili ve eğitimli askeri uzmanlar tarafından desteklenmesi gerektiğini savunmaktadır. Bu hipotezin doğruluğunu test edebilmek amacıyla vaka çalışması yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Türkiye’nin Libya İç Savaşı’na müdahalesi, Türkiye’nin Suriye’nin İdlib bölgesinde gerçekleştirdiği Bahar Kalkanı operasyonu ve Türkiye’nin 44 Günlük Vatan Savaşı’nda Azerbaycan’la iş birliği örnek vakalar olarak kullanılmıştır. Bahsedilen üç vakanın analizi sonucunda, çalışmanın savunduğu hipotezin geçerli olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.

Keywords

SİHA, Türkiye, Suriye, Libya, Azerbaycan

References

• Al-Monitor (2023, April 26). Turkey inks $321 million deal with Romania for Bayraktar military drones. https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2023/04/turkey-inks-321-million-deal-romania-bayraktar-military-drones
• Army Technology (2022, August 25). 9K33 Osa Air Defence Missile System, Russia. https://www.army-technology.com/projects/9k33-osa-air-defence-missile-system-russia/
• ASELSAN (n.d.) KORAL II Mobile Radar Electronic Warfare System. https://wwwcdn.aselsan.com/api/file/KORAL-II_ENG.pdf
• ASELSAN (n.d.). HISAR Missile Launching System. https://wwwcdn.aselsan.com/api/file/HISAR_eng.pdf
• Aviation Week Network (2014, March 10). U-2 has the edge over Global Hawk. http://aviationweek.com/awin/u-2-has-edge-over-global-hawk
• Bakeer, A. (2020, March 26). The fight for Syria’s skies: Turkey challenges Russia with new drone doctrine. https://www.mei.edu/publications/fight-syrias-skies-turkey-challenges-russia-new-drone-doctrine
• Bakir, A. (2021, September 27). Turkey’s electronic warfare capabilities: The invisible power behind Its UACVs. https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/turkeys-electronic-warfare-capabilities-invisible-power-behind-its-uacvs
• Bayar, G. (2021, August 29). Turkey among top 3 countries in world in combat drone technology. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/science-technology/turkey-among-top-3-countries-in-world-in-combat-drone-technology/2349922#
• Baykartech.com (n.d.). Bayraktar TB2. https://baykartech.com/tr/uav/bayraktar-tb2/
• Boyle, M. J. (2015). The race for Drones. Orbis, 59(1), 76-94.
• Callamard, A. & Rogers, J. (2020, December 1). We need a new ınternational accord to control drone proliferation. Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.
• Cole, C. & Cole, J. (2020, July 1). Libyan war sees record number of drones brought down to earth. https://dronewars.net/2020/07/01/libyan-war-sees-record-number-of-drones-brought-down-to-earth/
• Colon, C. R., Fricker, M. S., Plaw, A. (2015). The drone debate: A primer on the U.S. use of unmanned aircraft. Rowman and Littlefield.
• Davenport, C. (2015, August 27). The F-35 vs. the A-10 Warthog, Head-to-Head in Close-Air Support. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/08/27/as-it-fights-for-its-life-the-a-10-will-face-off-against-the-f-35-in-close-air-supporttest/
• Davis, L. E., McNerney, M. J., Chow, J. S., Hamilton, T., Harting, S., Byman, D. (2014). Armed and dangerous? UAVs and U.S. Security. RAND Corporation.
• Drone Wars (n.d.). Drone crash database. https://dronewars.net/drone-crash-database/
• Erdem, A. K. (2022, October 31). Drone, askerin standart demirbaşı arasına girdi. https://www.indyturk.com/node/570496/haber/drone-askerin-standart-demirbaşı-arasına-girdi-doğudaki-bütün-karakollarda-drone
• Fogel, B. & Mathewson, A. (2021, February 10). The next frontier in drone warfare? A Soviet-Era crop duster. https://thebulletin.org/2021/02/the-next-frontier-in-drone-warfare-a-soviet-era-crop-duster/
• Fuhrmann, M. & Horowitz, M. C. (2017). Droning on: Explaining the proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles. International Organization, 71(2), 397-418.
• Fuhrmann, M., Horowitz, M. C., Kreps, S. E. (2016). Separating fact from fiction in the debate over drone proliferation . International Security, 41(2) 7-42.
• Fukuyama, F. (2021, April 5). Droning on in the Middle East. https://www.americanpurpose.com/blog/fukuyama/droning-on/
• Gady, F. S. (2019, November 22). Useful, but not decisive: UAVs in Libya’s civil war. https://www.iiss.org/blogs/analysis/2019/11/mide-uavs-in-libyas-civil-war
• Hayrapetyan, T. (2021, September 9). How Ilham Aliyev “Personalizes” the results of the 2020 Artsakh War. https://evnreport.com/politics/how-ilham-aliyev-personalizes-the-results-of-the-2020-artsakh-war/
• Hayward, K. (2013). Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: A new ındustrial system. Royal Aeronautical Society.
• Heyns, C. (2013). Report of the special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary. United Nations.
• Hız, H. (2020, February 29). SİHA’lar İdlib harekatını tarihe geçirdi: “Bu inanılır gibi değil, tanksavar kullanmaya kalksanız aylar sürer”. https://www.yenisafak.com/dunya/sihalar-idlib-harekatini-tarihe-gecirdi-bu-inanilir-gibi-degil-tanksavar-kullanmaya-kalksaniz-aylar-surer-3527623
• Horowitz, M. C. (2016). Public opinion and the politics of the killer robots debate. Research & Politics, 3(1), 1-8.
• Joshi, S. & Stein, A. (2013). Emerging drone nations. Survival, 55(5), 53-78.
• Kasapoğlu, C. (2022, October 12). Turkish drone strategy in the Black Sea region and beyond. https://jamestown.org/program/turkish-drone-strategy-in-the-black-sea-region-and-beyond/
• Kasapoğlu, C. (2020, October 15). Turkey transfers drone warfare capacity to its ally Azerbaijan. https://jamestown.org/program/turkey-transfers-drone-warfare-capacity-to-its-ally-azerbaijan/
• Kasapoğlu, C. (2020, October 30). Analysis - Five key military takeaways from Azerbaijani-Armenian War. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/analysis/analysis-five-key-military-takeaways-from-azerbaijani-armenian-war/2024430
• Kemal, L. (2021, November 5). Turkey blamed Syria for a deadly air strike. Its troops blame Russia. https://www.middleeasteye.net/big-story/turkey-syria-russia-troops-blamed-air-strike
• Kofman, M. & Nersisyan, L. (2020, October 14). The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, two weeks in. https://warontherocks.com/2020/10/the-second-nagorno-karabakh-war-two-weeks-in/
• Kreps, S. (2013, December 4). Ground the Drones? The real problem with unmanned aircraft. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2013-12-04/ground-drones
• Kreps, S. & Zenko, M. (2014). The next drone wars: Preparing for proliferation. Foreign Affairs, 93(2), 68-79.
• Lacher, W. (2020). Libya’s fragmentation: Structure and process in violent conflict. Bloomsbury.
• Lewis, M. W. (2013, August 21). Drones: Actually the most humane form of warfare ever. http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/2008/drones-actuallythe-most-humane-form-of-warfare-ever/278746/
• Mayer, M. (2015). The new killer drones: understanding the strategic implications of next-generation unmanned combat aerial vehicle. International Affairs, 91(4), 765-780.
• Majumdar, D. (2013, November 13). Air force future UAV roadmap could be released as early as next week. http://news.usni.org/2013/2011/2013/air-force-future-uav-roadmap-released-early-next-week
• McGarry, B. (2015, February 13). Fewer than 10 drone pilots to receive $1,500 monthly bonus this year. http://www.military.com/daily-news/2015/02/13/fewer-than-10-pilots-to-receive-monthly-bonus-incentive.html
• Militarynyi (2022, June 7). Turkey starts mass production of Bozok munition for Bayraktar TB2 UAV https://mil.in.ua/en/news/turkey-starts-mass-production-of-bozok-munition-for-bayraktar-tb2-uav/
• Military Today (n.d.). Buk Medium-range air defense missile system. https://www.militarytoday.com/missiles/buk.htm
• Military Today (n.d.). Strela-10 Short-range air defense missile system. https://www.militarytoday.com/missiles/strela_10.htm
• Miron, M. & Thornton, R. (2020, December 7). Russia’s ‘revenge’ after Nagorno-Karabakh: Reprisals in Syria for Turkey’s support of Azerbaijan. https://defenceindepth.co/2020/12/07/russias-revenge-after-nagorno-karabakh-reprisals-in-syria-for-turkeys-support-of-azerbaijan/
• Missile Threat (2021, July 6). Pantsir S-1,’ Missile Threat: CSIS Missile Defense Project. https://missilethreat.csis.org/defsys/pantsir-s-1/
• Nicholson, D. (2020, March 2020). Revolutionary’ warfare or good marketing: Turkey’s Syria drone strikes. https://www.defenceconnect.com.au/strike-air-combat/5709-revolutionary-warfare-or-good-marketing-turkey-s-syria-drone-strikes
• Oryx (2020, September 27). The fight for Nagorno-Karabakh: Documenting losses on the sides of Armenia and Azerbaijan. https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2020/09/the-fight-for-nagorno-karabakh.html
• Pack, J. & Pusztai, W. (2020). Turning the tide: How Turkey won the war for Tripoli. Middle East Institute.
• Parachini, J. V. & Wilson, P. A. (2020, July 2). Drone-era warfare shows the operational limits of air defense systems. https://www.rand.org/blog/2020/07/drone-era-warfare-shows-the-operational-limits-of-air.html
• Pitel, L. & Jalabi, R. (2022, August 25). Fast, cheap, deadly: The budget drone changing global warfare. https://www.ft.com/content/948605a1-cf6c-40ea-b403-9a97d72be2cf
• Reuters (2015, October 19). Turkish PM Davutoglu says downed drone was Russian-made: TV. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syriaturkeyidUSKCN0SD12620151019
• Rogers, J. (2020). What has been the most significant development in the history of weaponry?. BCC History Magazine.
• ROKETSAN (n.d.). Precision guided missiles: MAM-L smart micro munition. https://www.roketsan.com.tr/uploads/docs/kataloglar/ENG/1628389063_mam-l-en.pdf
• SDE (2022, December 14). Korgeneral Bahtiyar Ersay, Azerbaycan ordu üniforması giyerek görevine başladı. https://www.sde.org.tr/azerbaycan/korgeneral-bahtiyar-ersay-azerbaycan-ordu-uniformasi-giyerek-gorevine-basladi-haberi-29330
• Shaikh, S. & Rumbaugh, W. (2020). The air and missile war in Nagorno-Karabakh; Lessons for the future of strike and defense. CSIS.
• Singer, P. W. (2009). Wired for War: The robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century. Penguin.
• Spencer, J. & Ghoorhoo, H. (2021, July 14). The battle of Shusha City and the missed lessons of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War. https://mwi.usma.edu/the-battle-of-shusha-city-and-the-missed-lessons-of-the-2020-nagorno-karabakh-war/
• Sternstein, A. (2015, April 29). How to hack a military drone?. http://www.defenseone.com/technology/2015/04/how-hack-military-drone/111391/
• Stulberg, A. (2007). Managing the unmanned revolution in the U.S. Air Force. Orbis, 51(2), 251-265.
• Suciu, P. (2020, October 5). Does the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict prove the tank is toast? https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/does-nagorno-karabakh-conflict-prove-tank-toast-170155
• TRHABER (2023, August 22). Libya’da HİSAR-O fotoğrafı: Humus Limanı iddiasından sonra şimdi Vatiyye! https://www.trhaber.com/dunya/libya-da-hisar-o-fotografi-humus-limani-iddiasindan-sonra-h121318.html
• TUBİTAK SAGE (n.d.). BOZOK laser guided miniature munition. https://www.sage.tubitak.gov.tr/sites/images/sage/bozok.pdf
• Turkish National Defense Ministry (n.d.). Bahar Kalkanı Harekatı. https://www.msb.gov.tr/BaharKalkani
• UAWIRE (2020, March 11). Erdogan: Turkish Army has destroyed 8 Russian Pantsir air defense systems in Idlib. https://www.uawire.org/erdogan-turkish-army-has-destroyed-8-russian-pantsir-air-defense-systems-in-idlib#
• United Nations (2019, November 18). Foreign involvement in Libya must be stopped, top official tells security council, describing ‘race against time’ to reach peaceful solution, spare lives. https://press.un.org/en/2019/sc14023.doc.htm
• United Nations Security Council (2020, January 15). United Nations Support Mission in Libya. Report of the Secretary-General. https://unsmil.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/sg_report_to_sc_15_january_2020_eng.pdf
• Urcosta, R. B. (2020). The revolution in drone warfare: The Lessons from the Idlib DeEscalation Zone. Journal of European, Middle Eastern, & African Affairs, 2(3), 50-65.
• Wallace, B. (2020, July 15). Defence Secretary Ben Wallace gives a speech at the Air and Space Power Conference. https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/defence-secretary-ben-wallace-gives-a-speech-at-the-air-and-space-power-conference
• Wintour, P. (2020, January 5). Turkish troops deploy to Libya to prop up embattled government. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/05/turkish-troops-deploy-to-libya-to-prop-up-embattled-government
• Witt, S. (2022, May 9). The Turkish drone that changed the nature of warfare. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/05/16/the-turkish-drone-that-changed-the-nature-of-warfare
• Yanık, T. (2022, August 25). Millî SİHA Bayraktar TB2, 500 bin uçuş saatini tamamladı. https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/bilim-teknoloji/milli-siha-bayraktar-tb2-500-bin-ucus-saatini-tamamladi/2669040
• Yeni Şafak (2017, August 21). TSK’da yeni dönem silahlı İHA eğitimi başladı. https://www.yenisafak.com/gundem/tskda-yeni-silahli-iha-egitimi-basladi-2783180