Unmanned Aerial Vehicle The latest drone news
Summary
- Ukrainian Yak-52 shooting down Russian drones like it’s 1945.
- War in Ukraine echoing past conflicts mixed with new technologies.
- Swarms of cheap drones need to be shot down by machine guns to preserve SAMs.
Those thinking the war in Ukraine has echoes of the world wars were greeted with a new sight last night. Videos circulating on social media showed a Ukrainian single-piston propeller-driven Yak-52 shooting down Russian reconnaissance drones over the southern city of Odesa using machine guns. The scene looked like a dogfight straight out of World War Two, taking the jets vs drones debate in an unexpectedly new direction.
Before the Full-Scale Russian Invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, much had been said about the war of the future. Future wars would be fought with stealth, cyber warfare, smart munitions, and various emerging technologies. But as the war in Ukraine continues into its third year, it takes on ever more echoes of the past with glimpses of the future.
Dogfighting Russian drones like it’s 1945
On 27 April 2024, a Ukrainian Yak-52 shot down a Russian reconnaissance drone. According to Militarnyi, the shooting was likely carried out by the second crew member with a gun or automatic weapon. It seems two Russian drones were shot down—a Zala and an Orlan drone. These are cheap and simple Russian recon drones with perhaps more in common with hobbyists’ drones than American Reaper drones. A stricken Russian drone was seen falling out of the sky with its parachute deployed (likely an automated response).
Effective air defense has greatly limited the impact and usefulness of the two countries’ air forces. After more than two years of war, the massive Russian Air Force (called VKS) has failed to crush its far weaker opponent and Russia has failed to secure air superiority beyond the frontline. Over 100 fixed-wing Russian aircraft have been lost so far including perhaps a handful of rare and extremely valuable AWACS aircraft.
Far from being a lightning blitzkrieg of crushing armored formations, Russia’s forces are largely stuck in trenches and laying landmines somewhat reminiscent of World War I. While armored units attempted to assault the next trench line. But the year is 2024, not 1916. So, while thousands of soldiers are in the trenches, there are also swarms of drones overhead. Both sides have been turning to using drones on the battlefield in massive numbers. This year, Ukraine is hoping to train some 20,000 drone operators (about as many personnel as there are in the Canadian Army).
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Old fighters with machine guns to shoot down drones
Among other things, this serves to reignite the debate of whether the iconic A-10 Warthog would be useful over Ukraine. The criticism is that the A-10 would not be survivable on the modern battlefield against modern SAMs. However, what about behind the lines? Thanks to effective Ukrainian air defense, the airspace is denied to Russian fighter jets. Russia is flying many slow-flying Iranian-origin Shahed one-way attack drones, Orlan recon drones, and other drones far behind the frontlines. This leaves swarms of cheap, slow, and vulnerable drones flying behind the lines. The issue is how drones are to be shot down.
Ukraine’s SAM missiles are far too few and too expensive to shoot down droves upon droves of cheap drones. Using guns to shoot them down is much more cost-effective. The old German Flakpanzer Gepard (a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun SPAAG) has proven very useful in this role. However, these are only available in limited numbers and it would be useful to have aircraft to shoot them down. Ukraine’s limited airforce is already strained and has suffered heavy losses (although it stands unbeaten).
This is where basic and cheap aircraft would come in handy. An advanced fighter jet is overkill for shooting down many of these drones. As the footage shows, the Yak-52 propeller trainer was enough to shoot the drones down. It’s not apparent if the A-10 would be well suited to these behind-the-lines duties – although it seems that even World War II Vought F4U Corsairs could be enough to do the job.
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The Yakovlev Yak-52
“Like most Russian aircraft, the Yak-52 is a rugged design, capable of operating in the extreme temperatures of Siberia whilst requiring minimal maintenance. The tricycle landing gear is retractable but remains exposed in-flight providing protection to the airframe should a “wheels up” landing occur.”
NZ Warbirds Association
The propeller-driven Yakovlev Yak-52 looks like a World War II fighter but is a Soviet-era primary trainer that first flew in 1976. It was built as an aerobatic trainer for Soviet and Warsaw Pact pilots and is a tandem-seated, single-engine, all-metal monoplane that looks like it has no place on the modern battlefield.
The Yak-52 was designed to operate in the rugged conditions of the Soviet Union and has a reputation as a responsive and very capable aerobatic aircraft. It has an empty weight of 2,200 lbs and is powered by a 360 horsepower Vedeneyev M14P nine-cylinder radial engine. Militarnyi notes it has the ability to suspend GUV-8700 pods with machine guns or UB-32 with unguided rockets, but this version of the aircraft only existed in a single copy.
Besides Soviet Russia, the Yak52 was also produced in Romania between 1977 and 1998. A modernized variant, the Yak-52M, was flown in Russia in 2004. It continues to be used as a basic trainer for the Russian Air Force and other Eastern European countries and has become popular for civilian sports pilots thanks to its aerobatic capabilities.
