Russia Deploys Modified Cessna Planes with Soviet-Era Guns to Combat Ukrainian Drone Swarms

Moscow, October 17, 2025 — In an innovative yet low-tech response to the escalating drone warfare in the ongoing conflict with Ukraine, Russian military forces have unveiled a new tactic: converting American-made civilian Cessna aircraft into makeshift drone hunters armed with Soviet-era machine guns. This development, showcased on Russian state television earlier this week, highlights the adaptive nature of modern asymmetric warfare, where high-end missiles are being supplemented by World War II-style aerial dogfights.

The modified aircraft, primarily Cessna 172 models originally designed for flight training and recreational use, are now equipped with dual PKT machine guns—vintage weapons typically mounted on armored vehicles—strapped beneath the fuselage. These guns, remnants of Soviet military stockpiles, are paired with adapted fire-control systems and optical sensors, allowing a two-person crew—a pilot and a targeting operator—to spot and engage low-flying Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from the air. The planes' low stall speeds of around 50-65 knots make them ideal for pursuing slow-moving drones at altitudes between 80 and 150 meters, where traditional ground-based defenses like radars and missiles often fall short.

Footage aired on Rossiya 1 on October 15 depicted these retrofitted Cessnas taking off from undisclosed airfields, patrolling vulnerable sites such as oil refineries, power stations, and border regions. The tactic involves close coordination with ground air defense units to avoid friendly fire, with operators preferring to down drones over open water or uninhabited areas to minimize risks from falling debris. This forms part of a broader "Bars-Sarmat" aviation unit, which also incorporates Soviet-era Yak-18T and Yak-52 training planes for similar interception roles.

Russian state media portrays the initiative as a resilient and cost-effective countermeasure against Ukraine's persistent long-range drone strikes, which have targeted infrastructure hundreds of miles inside Russia. Analysts note that using expensive surface-to-air missiles on cheap, disposable drones is inefficient, making these nimble, low-cost aircraft a practical alternative. However, skepticism remains: the lightweight Cessnas are vulnerable to adverse weather, enemy air defenses, and potential instability from the added weight of the guns. No official success rates have been disclosed, but the approach underscores the strain on Russia's conventional air defense network.

Close-up of a Russian Cessna modified for anti-drone operations, as shown in state media footage.
Interestingly, this strategy appears to be borrowed from Ukraine itself. Ukrainian forces have been employing similar tactics since earlier in the conflict, using Yak-52 propeller planes where gunners armed with rifles and shotguns lean out to shoot down Russian reconnaissance and Shahed drones approaching cities. This mutual adaptation reflects the rapid evolution of drone warfare, blurring lines between civilian technology and military applications in a conflict that has seen both sides innovate under resource constraints.

As drone swarms become a staple of the battlefield, experts predict further escalations in such unconventional countermeasures. For Russia, these Cessna "hunters" may provide a temporary edge, but the long-term effectiveness against increasingly sophisticated Ukrainian UAVs remains to be seen.