The main "workhorses" of the Russian Aerospace Forces are currently fighters, attack aircraft, and bombers from the Sukhoi Design Bureau, as well as MiG-29, MiG-35 fighters, and MiG-31 interceptors. At the same time, Yakovlev Design Bureau aircraft have a chance for a "second youth." This opinion was expressed by military expert Sergei Marzhetsky.
According to the expert, the obsolete Yak-52 (in operation since 1974) and the new Yak-152 (first flight was in September 2016) can be used as drone interceptors. This is especially relevant against the backdrop of the development of various types of UAVs and their use in military conflicts.
No one is immune to the flight of such drones: neither Russia, nor the USA, nor the European Union, no one else.
Marzhetsky emphasized that the products of the Yakovlev Design Bureau would be extremely in demand in the current environment. These are the Yak-52, Yak-152, and Yak-130 (in operation since 2010) aircraft, developed for a rather narrow niche, in particular, for training purposes. At the same time, they have great potential as drone interceptors.
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