- Vintage Antonov An-28 now operates as a mobile anti-drone platform
- Ukrainian crews report destroying 222 Russian Shahed drones using the onboard minigun
- Antonov An-28 supports two drone models, SkyFall P1-Sun and Merops AS-3 Surveyor
A 55-year-old turboprop airplane originally designed for short-range cargo and passenger flights has found an entirely new vocation over Ukrainian skies.
The Antonov An-28, a Russian-designed twin-propeller aircraft from the Soviet era, now operates as a mobile anti-drone weapons platform.
Ukrainian forces have equipped this vintage airframe with a six-barrel M134 Minigun, underwing interceptor drones, and virtual reality headsets for night targeting.
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From utility transport to drone hunter
The An-28 was never intended for combat; its original mission involved hauling supplies and people from short, unimproved airstrips.
The aircraft’s short takeoff and landing capability now serves a different purpose, allowing it to operate from austere forward bases close to the front lines.
Ukrainian pilot Tymur Fatkullin, who has documented many extemporized aviation initiatives, first published a video of the armed An-28.
His crew relies on air traffic controllers to guide it into areas where Russian Shahed drones are active, then uses infrared cameras and night vision goggles to spot the mostly nocturnal targets.
The aircraft carries an M134 Minigun, a six-barrel Gatling-class weapon capable of shredding slow-moving drones with sustained fire, like the A-10 Thunderbolt II.
Fatkullin reports that the An-28 has already destroyed 222 Russian drones using gun armament alone.
Although the minigun has proven effective, it requires the An-28 to fly within visual range of the target.
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Russian Shaheds often travel in swarms, and a gun can only engage one drone at a time, a limitation which pushed Ukrainian crews to experiment with a different method.
Instead of relying solely on bullets, the An-28 now carries small interceptor drones under its wings.
These drones launch from the aircraft and fly toward hostile Shaheds autonomously or under remote piloting.
“We have also tested several other interceptor drones during training flights. You could call it a cheap air-to-air missile,” said Tymur Fatkullin.
There are two models of these budget drones — the SkyFall P1-Sun, which uses a modular 3D-printed airframe and reaches speeds of up to 280 miles per hour, and the Merops AS-3 Surveyor, which carries an explosive warhead for proximity detonation.
Why the old airframe?
Launching interceptor drones from a turboprop offers several practical advantages over ground-based systems.
The An-28 brings the small drone closer to the target before release, reducing response time.
When the launch takes place from altitude, it gives the interceptor additional range and kinetic energy.
The aircraft also provides loiter time for standing anti-drone patrols, which crews can set up as a protective screen along predictable Russian flight paths.
However, the main advantage of this old airframe is cost. A single Shahed drone costs Russia an estimated $30,000 to $50,000.
According to the U.S. Army, a Merops-made interceptor drone costs around $15,000, with potential reductions to between $3,000 and $5,000 under scaled production.
The minigun, firing conventional ammunition, offers an even cheaper per-kill cost.
This technology appears to address Russian Shahed drones, but its true test will come not in today’s kill counts, but in how quickly Russia adapts to this makeshift solution.
If Moscow deploys electronic warfare or faster drones that defeat the An-28’s current configuration, the vintage turboprop’s utility could vanish almost overnight.
Via TWZ
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