Yak-52 Kill Marks Hint At Success In Ukraine’s Drone War. For the first time, a Ukrainian Yak-52 propeller-driven trainer has appeared with markings that could indicate a string of aerial victories against Russian drones.
https://www.twz.com/air/yak-52-kill-marks-hint-at-success-in-ukraines-drone-war
by MaryADraper
9 comments
This is incredibly impressive.
I keep imagining a fast FPV drone that is essentially a flying shotgun, as a defence against other drones. One well-aimed blast should be sufficient to take one down. Next.
With all the drones hitting deep inside Russia a few squadrons of Super Tucanos would rock Russian lines. I’m sure of it. Their AA is spotty at best and their handheld AA missile inventory is wiped out.
Anyone care to decipher the marking? Here is my guess:
Top row could indicate 2 [Shahed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HESA_Shahed_136) and 6 [Orlan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlan-10) drones interception but not shutdown directly (would be shutdown later). At the bottom, possibly surviving a bird strike and flying threw an electric storm. Finally, the two red strike would indicate actual shot down (from the rear gunner) of a [Forpost](https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/07/1/7355779/) and Orlan drones.
That being said, I really think those Yak-52 would benefit from having some type of .50cal [gun pod](https://fnherstal.com/en/defence/integrated-weapons-systems/airborne-fixed-forward-firing-solutions/machine-gun-pods/) (the Yak-52 military version can carry two rocket pods). Shooting a drone with a AK-47 from the backseat is not trivial and dangerous if the drone has an explosive warhead. Shooting 100m behind a drone from the pilot seat would be quite trivial considering the drone would be flying straight at the same speed.
Now think about what few A10s would do for Ukraine?
Dust off the P-51s boys!
Top ones could be intercepted and position reported for someone else to take care of – which is probably their primary mission so makes sense they tally it.
Yak 52 looks like something out of world war 2, but its actually a lot more recent. First flew in 1976.
Max speed is 285 kph which is pretty slow, however if you are using it to shoot down drones, you want it to be around the same speed as them….and FPV drones fly at 150kph, though I think most drones are slower.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakovlev_Yak-52](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakovlev_Yak-52)
You can arm them – this one has a serious looking gun pod
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakovlev_Yak-52#/media/File:07_Yellow_Yakolev_Yak.52B_Russian_Air_Force_(7985640947).jpg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakovlev_Yak-52#/media/File:07_Yellow_Yakolev_Yak.52B_Russian_Air_Force_(7985640947).jpg)