Ukraine eyes AT-6, Super Tucano aircraft to combat drone threats efficiently

The Ukrainian Air Force has expressed interest in acquiring light attack aircraft such as the US-manufactured AT-6 Wolverine and Brazil’s EMB-314 Super Tucano to enhance its ability to intercept and neutralize hostile drones, a senior Ukrainian defence official confirmed.

Yurii Ihnat, head of the communications department of the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, emphasized the need for more cost-effective aerial platforms capable of addressing the escalating drone threat, Caliber.Az reports per Ukrainian media.

Ihnat highlighted the limitations of currently employed aircraft such as the Yak-52, noting its relative effectiveness against reconnaissance assets but insufficient capacity to engage more advanced or numerous drone incursions.

“We discussed the involvement of light-engine aviation, which could work effectively. We are talking about the fact that now the light-engine aviation that is already used, say, Yak-52, is effective against reconnaissance aircraft. And against drones we already need other light-engined aircraft, say, as an option, there is the AT-6 in the US or the Super Tucano in Brazil,” Ihnat stated.

He went on to describe the tactical advantages of these aircraft: “This is really a light-engine aircraft, it seems to look like it has a propeller in front, if you just say it for understanding, but it actually works like a fighter jet, it has a radar sight, missiles, can work both day and night, and such a machine could strengthen us.”

Ihnat also voiced concern over the current reliance on more sophisticated and costly fighter jets—such as US-made F-16s and French Mirage aircraft—for counter-drone missions, which he argued is both financially and strategically unsustainable. He pointed to a growing shortage of air-to-air missiles and stressed the need for a more efficient use of Ukraine’s limited air defence arsenal.

“We have to go towards destroying drones in such huge numbers by rational means, cheaper means. Even it is not about money now, but about the shortage of missiles that we may need for another purpose, because for the Air Force, the first task is to prevent Russian aircraft from entering the airspace,” Ihnat concluded.

By Vafa Guliyeva