The New York Post reports that Ukrainians armed with shotguns and rifles, flying in old prop-driven Yak-52 airplanes are accounting for 10-12% of all drones shot down by Ukrainian forces. The article describes the tactic:
The Yak-52 is so basic that it has no radar, with the pilots only guided by radio before having to rely on their own eyes to spot the Russian drones soaring over the border.
The prop planes fly within 200 to 300 feet of the drone before the gunner opens his plane’s canopy to fire.
One of the gunners of the 11th likened the experience to an extreme version of a soldier having to fire his gun while riding on a horse.
The cockpit gets so cold that the pilots and gunners need thick jackets and fur-lined helmets to stay warm, yet another detail that harkens back to the beginnings of aerial combat.
Sounds like WWI.
ReplyDeleteSoon there will have to be air-superiority drones to protect the kamikaze and surveillance drones.
DeleteThe future of war is jerry-rigged.
ReplyDeleteIt will have to be because the current R&D/procurement cycles are just too slow.
Delete