I wonder why NATO has not put together a modernized Spitfire or other WWII forward-firing wing mounted machine gun type plane. The old .303 brownings in theory might workl. High rate of fire, decent range, and enough knockdown power to take out the lightly built drones. Add in some modern targeting, night vision, radar etc. and you might have an highly effective drone killer.
It exists, it is called a Super Tucano, I believe Ukraine has asked for it and it is sketchy they weren’t given something of the type, it makes no sense.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embraer_EMB_314_Super_Tucano
My guess. They likely failed to predict the rapid escalation in production of long range drones. Russia claims to be making almost 200 per day right now. It’s gone from a slow, poorly aimed terror weapon to a precise tactical weapon in under 3 years
i dont think so
Brazil is one of the countries that has repeatedly refused to supply Ukraine with weapons and military equipment, and The New York Times devoted an article to this issue, where some interesting details can be highlighted about how this country ignored Ukraine’s requests for weapons.
In particular, the article notes the following: Ukraine submitted at least two requests to Brazil for the purchase of a wide list of weapons. Among them were armored vehicles, air defense systems, mortar shells, sniper rifles, automatic weapons, ammunition and even airplanes.
Defense Express reminds that as of late March 2023 Brazil had 12 “extra” used Super Tucano airplanes, which could be purchased by one of the NATO countries
Ukraine has had interest in the Super Tucano as a trainer since 2020, there are political reasons Ukraine does not have this aircraft.
It’d take a lot of investment and time to design a new production line for a craft like that, and it’s not entirely clear yet whether there’s sufficient need for new production (since there seems to be an adequate amount of older applicable planes), or if they would become obsolete quickly or not from counter defenses.
Utilizing existing frames/production lines with modifications could be done. It’s not unprecedented.
Good point, that does seem like a viable option. Love the example you gave 😄
Hmmm… they installed AA missiles on this old crop duster.
https://theaviationist.com/2025/08/08/r-73-equipped-crop-duster-ukraine/
They did mention in the video how cheap their solution is, which is likely s huge bonus for a cash strapped Ukraine trying to make every buck count. AA missiles might raise the cost downed per-drone to the point that it’s less viable than their… Stick the AR-15 out the cockpit method
It’s an easy target for air-to-air rockets. Sure the plane costs cheap but the pilot isn’t.
Maybe in a drone version tho.
Yak 52
