Ukraine using gunners in prop planes to down drones from Russia

YAKKITY YAK, COUNTER-DRONE ATTACK. RIGHT NOW, IN THE SKIES ABOVE UKRAINE A 50-YEAR-OLD PROPELLER-DRIVEN AIRPLANE IS RACKING UP KILLS AGAINST 21ST CENTURY UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES.

AN UNKNOWN NUMBER OF THE SOVIET-ERA YAK-52 TRAINING AIRCRAFT–CREWED BY UKRAINIANS FROM A LOCAL CIVIL AIR PATROL CHAPTER–APPEAR TO BE FLYING FREE-HUNT MISSIONS IN SOUTHERN UKRAINE TAKING DOWN RUSSIAN SURVEILLANCE DRONES.

NOW, THIS IS A PRETTY GOOD DISTANCE FROM THE FRONTLINES, WHERE RUSSIAN AIR DEFENSE SYSTEMS WOULD DOWN THESE THINGS ALMOST AS FAST AS A PATRIOT MISSILE COULD DOWN A SU-34–WHICH IS PRETTY FAST.

BE THAT AS IT MAY, DOWNING THE DRONES IN A WORLD WAR I STYLE AIR BATTLE ISN’T EASY EITHER.

FOR STARTERS THE TYPES OF DRONES THE YAKS ARE HUNTING ARE SMALL, AND THE PILOT HAS TO FIND THE THINGS IN THE SKY WITHOUT MODERN SENSORS OR EQUIPMENT. ONCE A TARGET IS LOCATED, AND THE PILOT MANAGES TO PUT THE PLANE IN A SUITABLE FIRING POSITION, THE GUNNER STILL HAS TO SHOOT THE THING DOWN–BY HAND LIKELY WITH A BASIC INFANTRY WEAPON–IN THE OPEN COCKPIT OF A MOVING PLANE.

OBVIOUSLY NOT AN IDEAL OR EFFECTIVE TACTIC FOR EVERY SITUATION, BUT IT’S NOT INEFFECTIVE EITHER.

THESE IMAGES OF KILL MARKS ON THE SIDE OF ONE YAK-52 SHOWED UP ONLINE RECENTLY, AND IF TRUE–, THE PLANE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR DOWNING AT LEAST EIGHT RUSSIAN DRONES. TWO OTHER DRONES ARE SEEN MARKED OUT ABOVE PICTURES OF A PELICAN AND A STORM CLOUD, LEADING SOME TO BELIEVE THE YAK CREW WITNESSED TWO RUSSIAN DRONES GET TAKEN DOWN BY A BIRD AND A STORM.

OF COURSE, THE BEST TIME TO TAKE DOWN UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES–WHETHER THEY’RE JUST SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS OR ONE-WAY ATTACK DRONES–IS TO BLOW THEM UP BEFORE THEY LAUNCH. IN LATE JUNE, THAT’S JUST WHAT UKRAINE’S NAVY DID.

USING DOMESTICALLY PRODUCED NEPTUNE MISSILES OR SIMILAR WEAPONS, UKRAINIAN FORCES LAUNCHED A NIGHT ATTACK ON A BASE IN RUSSIA’S KRASNODAR REGION. THE BASE IS HOME TO THE 726TH AIR DEFENSE TRAINING CENTER WHERE RUSSIAN PILOTS ARE TAUGHT HOW TO FLY ALL SORTS OF DRONES LIKE THE GERAN-2, MOSCOW’S VERSION OF THE IRANIAN-MADE SHAHED-136.

SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS THE LEVEL OF DESTRUCTION. UKRAINE SAYS IT BLEW UP 20 GERANS, 50 LANCETS, 40 ZALA RECONNAISSANCE DRONES, 10 SUPERCAM RECON DRONES AND AN UNSPECIFIED NUMBER OF SMALLER ATTACK DRONES.

SOME BARRACKS ON THE BASE AND ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDINGS WERE ALSO HIT CAUSING AN UNKNOWN NUMBER OF CASUALTIES. IN FACT, THE SURNAMES OF THREE IRANIAN MEN–BELIEVED TO BE FLIGHT INSTRUCTORS– WERE LISTED AMONG THE DEAD.

THE KYIV POST IS CALLING THE STRIKE THE MOST EFFECTIVE UKRAINIAN COUNTERATTACK AGAINST RUSSIA’S LONG-RANGE STRIKE CAPABILITIES SINCE THE WAR STARTED.

WE’VE BEEN COVERING THE WAR SINCE IT STARTED AS WELL. YOU CAN FIND ALL OF OUR REPORTING ON THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP, OR ONLINE AT SAN.COM.

FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS, I’M RYAN ROBERTSON.