In April 2024, images and angry comments about the interception of a Ukrainian Yakovlev Yak-52 first appeared on Russian forums. Now there are new reports – the latest video footage dates from this week.
The question naturally arises: what can an unarmed aircraft from the 1970s, powered by a 400 hp radial engine and traveling at a maximum speed of 300 km/h, do in a war (-> current reports from the Ukraine war) that is also being fought with hypersonic weapons and satellites – in order to attract attention?
The answer: intercepting Russian reconnaissance drones in the Ukrainian hinterland. You feel like you’re back in the First World War to the beginnings of aerial combat. Because just like back then, there are still gunners with handguns sitting in the back seat of the “Jaks” – and there are definitely several of them. And their work is anything but insignificant.
As the commander of the 414th Brigade of Unmanned Systems “Birds of Magyar”, Robert Brovdi, emphasizes in his latest video, it makes a noticeable difference whether Russian reconnaissance drones can fly unhindered or not. The frequency and effectiveness of Russian long-range weapons are demonstrably impaired by the successful countering of these drones.
The brave men who threw themselves into an aerial battle on board a simple training aircraft, which is otherwise fought with supersonic jets and long-range missiles, presumably come from the Odessa region. At any rate, that is where the verifiable sighting reports come from: on the one hand, videos from the ground taken with cell phones and, on the other, the “last images” of Russian reconnaissance drones – apparently shortly before they were shot down.
It is not publicly known how effective these missions actually are. However, eight launch markings on a photo of the Yak-52 taken in the spring suggest that this was more than just a one-off operation. After all, the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti felt compelled to report on the development of a Yak-52B2 version in August 2024.
In the article, Dmitry Motin, head of the Experimental Design Bureau (OKB) “Aviastroitel”, was quoted as saying that work was underway to integrate new instruments and navigation systems, an electronic warfare system and a radar – with the aim of upgrading the sports and training aircraft to a “UAV fighter”.
However, nothing more has been seen or heard of it since then. So far, only the Ukraine has achieved verifiable interception successes with the Yak-52.
