Russia Tests Shotgun-Armed Yak-52 Trainer Aircraft to Down Ukrainian Drones
Russia has followed Ukraine’s lead in adapting the propeller-driven Yak-52 primary training aircraft as an ad-hoc drone-killer. The Yak-52B2 includes a sensor turret to help detect long-range one-way attack drones and has a shotgun mounted under the wing for shooting them down.
While it appears that Ukrainian Yak-52s have had some success in the counter-drone role, the appearance of the Yak-52B2 provides more evidence of the pressure that Ukrainian drone strikes are placing on Russia’s traditional air defenses.
The first photos and details about the Yak-52B2, described by Russian sources as a “drone fighter,” recently appeared on social media. It’s unclear which company was responsible for developing this modification of the primary trainer, but unconfirmed accounts suggest it was “one of the experimental design bureaus specializing in aircraft construction.”
The modified Yak-52B2 has a sensor turret under the left wing, which is said to be able to operate in air-to-air, air-to-ground, and, reportedly, weather-avoidance modes. Under the right wing is a 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun. Shotguns of different types have been widely employed to counter drones by both sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, although these are notably short-range weapons for any kind of air-to-air application, but more on that in a minute. Overall, the aircraft is said to be able to carry a payload of 90 kilograms (198 pounds) under each wing.
Other equipment is said to include an onboard fire-control computer, which generates targeting information, while a navigation system allows operations at night and in poor weather.
Reports from Russian military bloggers suggest that the Yak-52B2 was developed after previous experiments using the U.S.-designed Cessna 172 four-seat propeller aircraft and the Yak-18T four/five-seat propeller utility aircraft. According to these accounts, the Yak-52 was selected due to its performance and the fact that larger numbers of these airframes are widely available in Russia.
Notably, it’s claimed that the Yak-52B2 is intended to defeat both purpose-designed long-range one-way attack drones like the AN-196 Liutyi, as well as propeller aircraft that have been adapted to operate pilotless and deliver explosive payloads onto targets deep within Russia, such as the Aeroprakt A-22 ultralight.
There are also claims that the counter-drone modification was based on the experience of the Yak-52B light attack aircraft that was developed in the Soviet era, for use in the Afghan war.
The Yak-52B was built for counterinsurgency work, and was first tested in 1982, with an armament of UPK-23 23mm gun pods and UB-32 pods for 57mm unguided rockets on pylons under a strengthened wing. An optical sight was also fitted, but the aircraft was never produced in quantity.
More pertinent to the Yak-52B2, however, is Ukraine’s experiences using the same basic aircraft to counter Russian drones.
On the other hand, it’s unclear how much ammunition the fixed gun on the Yak-52B2 is provided with. The widely used Russian Saiga semi-automatic shotgun can be fitted with a detachable box magazine, like the kind seen in photos of the aircraft. Box magazine options generally range from five to 12 rounds. In this case, the magazine looks like a 10-12-round type. It seems consideration was given to using a heavier weapon with longer range — a PKTM general-purpose machine gun — but this was reportedly abandoned amid concerns as to how it could damage civilian infrastructure below.
Regardless of the weapon being used, the sensor turret on the Yak-52B2 means that it can counter drone threats at night, when most Ukrainian long-range one-way attack drones arrive over targets in Russia.
Source: The War Zone
