An interesting reconnaissance drone was captured, almost intact, by the pro-Russia separatists in Ukraine.
Along with the Su-25, Su-27 and Mil Mi-24, the Ukrainian Air Force is operating its fleet of recently restored Soviet-era reconnaissance drones.
Among them, at least until Aug. 1, even one Tu-143 Reys, a type of drone developed from Tu-141, that pro-Russia separatists found almost intact in a field.
The Tu-143 is quite similar to the Tu-141, even though substantially smaller. It has an operative range of about 60 – 70 kilometers and a low-level flight capability.
David Cenciotti is a freelance journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written four books.
A Ukrainian AN-30 reconaissance plane was shot down by MANPADS (Man Portable Air Defense System) in east Ukraine. On Jun. 6, a Ukrainian Air Force AN-30 (or AN-26), believed to carry out surveillance missions was […]
Born as a long range escort fighter for U.S. Air Force Strategic Air Command (SAC) bombers, the McDonnell F-101 was developed in several versions. Both were involved in the Cuban Missile Crisis. The McDonnell F-101 […]
In spite of the amount of aircraft shot down by the rebels, civil airliners flew through the SAM-infested airspace of Eastern Ukraine with the risk of being mistakenly hit. As happened to the Malaysian Boeing […]
This website makes use of cookies, both proprietary or by third part, in order to improve your browsing experience. For more information check our cookies policy.
By closing this message, proceed surfing or using this website, you accept to use cookies. Don’t show this again
