Another World War I Style Dogfighter Is Hunting Drones Over Ukraine

Another World War I style dogfighter is back in action over Ukraine. A screengrab from the video feed of a Russian surveillance drone that circulated online on Monday depicts a dramatically painted Yakovlev Yak-52—a two-seat, piston-engine training plane designed in the 1970s—maneuvering into position so its backseat gunner can take a shot at the drone with a rifle.

It’s at least the second Yak-52 to hunt drones over Ukraine.

In a heady three months starting last May, a Yak-52 shot down a large number of Russian drones over Kherson Oblast, likely at least a few miles from the front line. While the front-seat pilot steered the slow, nimble plane, the gunner in the back seat opened fire with a shotgun.

Fans of the barnstormer posted videos and photos of the Yak-52 in action and on the ground. A growing number of kill markings on the side of the old trainer spoke to its effectiveness as a drone-killer. It worked so well that the Ukrainian intelligence directorate began training gunners to hunt Russian unmanned aerial vehicles from locally-made Aeroprakt A-22 sport planes.

But the Yak-52’s fame and effectiveness made it a top target for the Russians. The Russian military’s frustration with the Yak-52 and its shotgun-wielding gunner rested in July, as the trainer’s kills likely exceeded a dozen unmanned aerial vehicles. “Isn’t it time to shoot him down?” one Russian blogger wrote.

Hard to hit

But that was easier said than done. Russian surface-to-air missiles might struggle to hit such a small target that far from Russian-occupied territory.

So Russian forces did the next best thing—they went after the Yak-52 on the ground at its base: Hydroport airfield in Odesa. On July 15, a Russian drone surveyed the airfield, pinpointing several parked Ukrainian UAVs and hangars where the Yak-52 may have sheltered.

An Iskander ballistic missile streaked in, exploding between the drones and the hangars and sparking several fires. One analyst scrutinized video and satellite imagery and concluded that the Iskander damaged three drones and several hangars. The same attack, or a separate one, apparently also hit a nearby Ukrainian air defense battery.

It’s unclear whether the Yak-52 was in one of the damaged hangars. But it’s telling that, for four months, there were no new sightings of the famous piston plane. A rumored Yakovlev mission in November may have involved that first Yak-52 or a second copy of the ubiquitous plane, dozens of which belong to Ukrainian citizens and flying clubs.

The colorful Yak-52 that broke cover on Monday may be that second plane—or another in a growing fleet of piston fighter planes that have revived World War I tactics for the drone era.