Dutch Volunteers Donate Yak-52 Plane to Help Ukraine Fight Drones
Dutch volunteers have donated a Yak-52 training aircraft to Ukraine, which will now be used to combat Russian drones.
The Gaze reports this, referring to Militarnyi, citing Scramble.
The Dutch foundation Protect Ukraine purchased the aircraft in the UK after a request from a Ukrainian unit specializing in intercepting drones.
The Yak-52 was delivered to Ukraine at the end of October. The aircraft is used to destroy slower drones, including Iranian Shaheds, using non-standard methods — pilots shoot them down with their wings or fire directly from the cockpit.
At the same time, this approach is extremely risky, as the Yak-52 is not equipped with radar, flies at low altitude, and remains vulnerable to debris after drone explosions.
The aircraft, donated by volunteers, is dedicated to the late Ukrainian pilot Konstantin Oborin, known as “Kamikaze,” who shot down “Shaheeds” in southern Ukraine.
The aircraft, manufactured in 1985, previously underwent a major overhaul at the British company Wilco Aviation. It was modernized — the ignition system was replaced, the weight was reduced, the electronics were updated, and the engine efficiency was improved.
Colonel Konstantin Oborin, known as “Kamikaze,” was a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, director of the Odessa flying club, and a Ukrainian record holder in parachuting. After 2014, he helped ATO fighters, and with the start of a full-scale invasion, he rejoined the Armed Forces of Ukraine, shooting down Russian “Shahed” drones with a light-engine Yak-52. He was killed on July 18, 2025, during a cassette munitions attack. In 2024, Oborin was awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky III degree.
As The Gaze previously informed, the Netherlands announced a new €200 million military aid package for Ukraine, aimed at strengthening countermeasures against Russian drones.
Another important step was signing of a memorandum on the launch of joint projects in the field of drone production, marking another step in strengthening the defense partnership between the two countries.
Read more on The Gaze: Why the West Needs Ukraine in Its Defense Industry