A Ukrainian An-28 door gunner shot down a Russian Shahed attack drone with an M134 minigun in a dramatic mid-air strike, newly released footage shows.
The video, circulating on social media, shows a door gunner firing an M134 minigun at the incoming drone. The silhouette of a drone is seen flying just below the aircraft.
As soon as the crew spots it, the door gunner gets into position, aims the M134 minigun at the drone, and fires a shot. Bright tracer lights hit the target; the drone bursts into flames and falls to the ground.
Earlier, a French television channel TF1 reported that Ukraine had been using an An-28 aircraft as a "hunter" to stop Russian Shahed-type attack drones.
According to the report, the aircraft flies night patrols to search for incoming drones. Once a target is spotted, the door gunner engages it using the six-barrel M134 minigun, which fires a rapid stream of bullets. Another footage showed the drone being hit mid-air and brought down.
"We try to intercept as many as possible and shoot them down in safe areas – fields, forests – but never over homes," said the An-28 pilot.
The aircraft has already gunned down nearly 150 drones.
The An-28 is a small aircraft with two engines that was designed by the Antonov Design Bureau. The An-28 was mainly made for short trips. It can carry a small number of passengers or transport cargo like supplies and equipment. The aircraft was produced in Poland by a company called PZL.
Poland also developed a stronger military version of the same plane, called the MC-145B SOMA, which was made for special missions.
The MC-145B SOMA was fitted with extra equipment. It has surveillance and detection systems and carries better weapons. One of these is the APKWS rocket system, which can be used to hit small targets like drones more accurately.
