Ukrainian civilian plane with minigun downs nearly 150 Russian drones
French television channel TF1 recently aired striking footage of a modified Soviet-era Antonov An-28 turboprop plane operated by Ukrainian civilian volunteers. This repurposed passenger aircraft has become one of Ukraine's most effective platforms for intercepting Russian Shahed drones, with its crew claiming to have shot down nearly 150 since operations began.
The TF1 documentary captured a nighttime mission where the team downed five drones. Footage revealed a M134 Minigun a six-barreled rotary machine gun firing up to 6,000 rounds per minute—mounted in the cargo door. Volunteers visually spot the slow-moving Iranian-designed drones, sometimes trailing them for kilometers over residential areas before engaging over open fields or forests. Operating without advanced detection gear heightens the risks; the broadcast showed fuselage damage from shrapnel during close-range encounters.
Private aircraft gained official permission to hunt Russian drones only last summer, per Defense Express reports. The An-28's high-wing design and 320 km/h cruising speed make it ideal for matching the Shahed's roughly 185 km/h pace. Unlike fast jets such as the F-16, which struggle with slow targets and debris risks to their engines, this turboprop excels at low-altitude intercepts.
Russia has ramped up its drone campaign, launching an average of 4,400 Shaheds monthly in 2025, according to former Ukrainian security service officer Ivan Stupak. Ukrainian air defenses recently intercepted 156 out of 183 drones in a single overnight assault on February 4-5. This civilian initiative fits Ukraine's broader push for cost-effective countermeasures, saving pricey missiles for ballistic and cruise threats by deploying modified helicopters, interceptor drones, and now civilian planes.
Russia has countered by arming some Shahed variants with air-to-air missiles and portable antiaircraft systems aimed at interceptors. Victory tallies painted on the An-28, as seen in TF1 images, highlight the intense nocturnal air war over Ukrainian cities.
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