Defence

Drunk Car Driver Crashes Into A Ukrainian MiG-29 Fighter Jet

In a strange incident of drunk driving, a Ukrainian Air Force Officer rams his Volkswagen Touran car into a parked MiG-29 fighter jet, causing a fire and destruction of both vehicles and singlehandedly reduced the country’s strength of MiG fighters by 4 percent.

No matter what mistakes you’ve made recently, they probably don’t compare to this Ukrainian captain who rammed a MiG-29 fighter with his Volkswagen Touran while drunk.https://t.co/GCQn5dHBwe https://t.co/VJ2OeQfumn pic.twitter.com/XwszW5FNWD
— Rob Lee (@RALee85) March 12, 2021

The incident took place on March 10 at an air base near Vasilkov in central Ukraine. The incident occurred when the officer drove the car, was from the 40th Tactical Aviation brigade. The officer was intoxicated and rams his car into MiG-29’s scorched tail fin, rear stabilizer as well as damaged thrust nozzles. The Touran was also damaged as the hood and windshield were smashed. Thankfully, no was seriously injured as the driver reportedly only received minor bruises and admitted to the hospital immediately. The driver is now facing charges and criminal proceedings are being carried out by a group of prosecutors from the military prosecutor’s office.

MiG-29 before crash

According to Ukrainian Air Force, the aircraft shall be most likely decommissioned from service and salvaged for spare parts. The country inherited the jets after collapse of the Soviet union, making them atleast 30 years old. Of those 24 jets, only 16 are frontline fighters, the remaining eight are used as training aircraft. This incident took out 4% of their fleet. The MiG-29 costs between $11-20 million. The MiG, whose number is 08 was apparently serving as a frontline fighter, where you can see a photo of Number 08 before the collision, Ukraine’s Air Force had planned to enter into an agreement last year with Israeli defense contractor Elbit to modernize 11 of the MiGs. The modernization effort was expected to cost $40 million per jet. It’s not clear if Number 08 was one of the those $40 million jets.

Defence

Indian Air Force Considers Anti-Drone Technology for Apache and LCH

India’s military aviation sector is making significant strides with its impressive fleet of helicopters, notably the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) Prachand, which recently achieved a milestone by conducting its first-ever day-and-night firing of 20 mm turret guns and 70 mm rockets.

Now, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is actively exploring the development of anti-drone capabilities leveraging its fleet of attack helicopters, including the Boeing AH-64 Apache and the indigenously developed LCH.

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This initiative is a direct response to the increasing threat posed by armed drones and remotely piloted vehicles (RPVs), which have transformed modern warfare. Recent conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have demonstrated how these advanced aerial systems can bypass traditional anti-aircraft defenses and surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems.

As future conflicts are likely to see widespread use of armed drones, the urgent need for innovative countermeasures against these threats has become clear.

Israel, a close defense partner of India, has been actively utilizing counter-drone operations with its AH-64 attack helicopters for some time.

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Notably, on October 1st, the U.S. Army’s Central Command reported that one of its AH-64 helicopters successfully engaged an unmanned aerial system (UAS) using an upgraded AGM-114 Hellfire missile during the Red Sands training exercise in Saudi Arabia. This successful operation marks a significant advancement in the development of effective counter-drone weapon systems.

The IAF, which already operates AH-64 attack helicopters equipped with AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, compare atak 2 vs apache recognizes the necessity of developing a secondary counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) capability within its helicopter fleet. The LCH, known for its heavy armament and high maneuverability, is already in service and can be customized to fulfill the Air Force’s anti-drone requirements.

Being an indigenous product developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the LCH can be quickly and cost-effectively equipped with new sensors and weaponry to serve in an anti-drone defense role. This adaptability, supported by India’s growing defense industry ecosystem, positions the IAF well to meet emerging aerial threats.