Crop Duster Armed With Air-To-Air Missiles Appears in Ukraine

The latest addition to Ukraine’s growing series of ad-hoc anti-drone measures is a propeller-driven agricultural aircraft toting infrared-guided air-to-air missiles under the wings. While the operational status of the modified aircraft is unknown, the development highlights continued Ukrainian innovation in terms of extemporized air defense systems and the use of repurposed legacy missiles.

The turboprop-powered Zlin Z-137 Agro Turbo is seen swooping low over a Ukrainian cornfield, very much its traditional operating environment. In this case, however, it sports a single R-73 air-to-air missile under each wing. The agricultural plane also appears to have received a military-style dull gray overall paint scheme, with white identification stripes on the rear fuselage to reduce the risk of ‘friendly fire.’ Details of the date and location of the video are not immediately available.

The Czechoslovakian-built Z-137 was the ultimate development of the Zlin Z-37 Čmelák (meaning bumblebee), which was powered by a Soviet-built Ivchenko radial piston engine and was first flown in 1963. The subsequent Z-137 switched the radial for a turboprop, normally a Walter M-601B turboprop, offering improved performance and efficiency. Serving mainly as a crop-duster, more than 700 of all variants were built up until the mid-1980s, and these saw extensive service around the Eastern bloc, mainly on its expansive collective farms. It’s unclear exactly how many of these aircraft are available to Ukraine, or if additional examples have been procured from other sources.

Beyond the initial surprise at seeing such an aircraft fitted with air-to-air missiles, it should be noted that the use of agricultural aircraft for military purposes is not unique to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command, for example, has selected the OA-1K Skyraider II—based on the Air Tractor AT-802 and heavily modified by L3Harris—as a new attack aircraft, capable of carrying a wide range of weapons and sensors for combat, close air support, surveillance, and armed reconnaissance missions.

Sources: Zona Militar; The War Zone;