As the war in Ukraine drags on, Ukrainian forces have apparently found a new way to take on the ever-present threat of Russian drones: strap a bunch of missiles to a decades-old crop duster as a new kind of air defense system. Video posted to Telegram channels show a Czechoslovakian-made Zlin Z-137 Agro Turbo crop duster plane with two R-73 air-to-air missiles strapped under its wings.
Videos were brief so it’s unclear how many of these planes are being used by Ukraine or how effective they actually are against Russian drones. But it is a far cry from when a crop duster tried to run down Cary Grant in ‘North By Northwest’ and points to more signs of Ukraine’s innovations when it comes to dealing with modern threats like drones.
The War Zone earlier reported on the sightings of the Z-137. There are some clear benefits. A crop duster is much more low-tech than a F-16 fighter jet. Although it’s unlikely to win some dogfights against other planes, it does make it less susceptible to electromagnetic jamming. And the design of the plane means it’s meant to fly low, close to the ground, making it ideal for targeting Russian drones doing reconnaissance or attacking Ukrainian positions.
This isn’t the first armed crop duster to emerge in the era of modern warfare, but its easy conversion into a military vehicle stands out. On the other end of the spectrum, U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command, or AFSOC, began using the OA-1K Skyraider II — a single-engine turboprop plane meant to operate from minimalist airfields and serve as armed reconnaissance. That aircraft, developed as part of a multi-billion dollar project, was made with combat in mind, with the intention of providing close air support for ground forces. That’s a far cry from what’s flying over Ukraine.
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Since the war in Ukraine broke out in 2022, Ukrainian forces have relied on McGyvered weapons systems and often anachronistic tactics. Advanced drones and electromagnetic warfare units fight from mud-filled World War I-style trenches while machine guns from a century ago lay down covering fire. To take on drones, Ukrainian forces have tried ersatz anti-air rigs made out of bundled Kalashnikovs to using their own commercial quadcopters in dogfights against first-person view drones. The crop duster fits somewhere in the middle, using a decades-old agricultural plane design with newer weapons to take out modern dangers.
Consider the humble technical, the civilian pickup truck or SUV with a machine gun or anti-tank missile bolted onto it in the most militant aftermarket modification possible. Instead of needing advanced training, it’s easy to use, and cheaper. This Z-137 is essentially an aerial technical.
The crop duster also showcases the ability to create relatively cheap anti-drone systems. Notably the U.S. military has been working to adapt to the rampant adoption of drones in warfare, building out its own doctrine and arsenal of jammers and small FPV drones. In combat situations, such as over the Middle East or the Red Sea, American forces have relied on expensive munitions such as Standard Missiles and sending fighter squadrons to intercept. It’s unclear how effective the Z-137s flying over Ukraine are, and if such tactics would work against larger one-way attack drones or ballistic missiles, but it is a novel air defense solution against smaller weapons.
