Ukrainian Defense Forces scramble Yak-52 to shoot down Zala UAV

The Defense Forces used the Yak-52 aircraft to intercept the Russian Zala reconnaissance drone.

Footage from the drone that recorded the Ukrainian Yak-52 was released on the Tysk Telegram channel.

The aircraft, which played the role of air defense, intercepted a Russian reconnaissance drone over the Mykolaiv region.

The Ukrainian piston aircraft itself did not have weapons, the role of the shooter was performed by the co-pilot from the place for the instructor in the plane.

The two-seat single-engine trainer aircraft was mass-produced from 1979 to 1998.

It has a low stall speed of 100-140 kilometers per hour.

This allows him to chase drones and at the same time maneuver at relatively low speeds.

The aircraft has a maximum permissible speed of 470 kilometers per hour, a range of up to 500 kilometers and a flight duration of 2.5 hours.

This is not the first time that this aircraft has been engaged for air defense. At the end of April in the Odesa region, a piston plane was shot down by a Russian reconnaissance drone.

Presumably, the idea of engaging these aircraft in Ukraine is already being scaled. The video shows that Yak-52 received military camouflage.

It is worth noting that the defense industrial complex was engaged in aircraft Yak-52 back in 2020.

Motor-Sich developed an upgraded version of this aircraft, which received a AІ-450S turboprop engine with 5-blade variable-pitch propeller MTV-5, as well as a number of other new systems. Also, the upgraded version received a new instrument panel with liquid crystal indicators.