According to reports, in the ongoing conflict, Ukraine has developed a new defense strategy by equipping Czechoslovakia’s Zlin Z-137 Agro Turbo crop dust collector with air-to-air missiles to counter Russian drones, demonstrating its extraordinary creativity in adapting to modern warfare.
Video footage, briefly circulated on Telegram channels, depicts the Zlin Z-137 Agro Turbo aircraft with two R-73 air-to-air missiles secured beneath its wings. While the visual evidence offers a glimpse into this unconventional modification, details remain limited regarding the exact number of these planes in use or their precise effectiveness against Russian drones.
Nevertheless, this adaptation marks a significant departure from conventional military hardware, underscoring Ukraine’s continued innovations in confronting contemporary threats like unmanned aerial vehicles. The appearance of such a repurposed aircraft points to a broader pattern of extemporized solutions in the face of ongoing combat.
The Z-137 Agro Turbo, a turboprop-powered aircraft, is seen in the circulating video swooping low over what appears to be a Ukrainian cornfield, reminiscent of its traditional agricultural role. However, its new military-style dull gray paint scheme, complete with white identification stripes on the rear fuselage to mitigate friendly fire risks, clearly signals its re-purposed function.
1.This aircraft is the ultimate development of the Zlin Z-37 Čmelák, which first flew in 1963. The Z-137 variant replaced the original Soviet-built Ivchenko radial piston engine with a Walter M-601B turboprop, enhancing its performance and efficiency. Over 700 units of all variants were manufactured until the mid-1980s, seeing extensive service across the Eastern bloc, particularly on expansive collective farms.
The choice of the Z-137 offers several practical advantages in the current conflict. Unlike sophisticated F-16 fighter jets, a crop duster is a low-tech platform, making it less vulnerable to electromagnetic jamming. Its design inherently allows it to fly low and close to the ground, a characteristic that makes it ideally suited for targeting Russian drones engaged in reconnaissance or attacking Ukrainian positions.
This isn’t the first instance of an armed crop duster emerging in modern warfare, but the Z-137’s straightforward conversion into a military asset stands out. In contrast, the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) uses the OA-1K Skyraider II, a militarized derivative of the Air Tractor AT-802 crop duster, developed as part of a multi-billion dollar project with combat operations and close air support in mind. The Ukrainian Z-137, by comparison, fills a distinct and more niche role as a drone-killer.
Since the war began in 2022, Ukrainian forces have frequently relied on “McGyvered” weapons systems and unconventional tactics. Advanced drones and electromagnetic warfare units are deployed from World War I-style trenches, while machine guns from a century ago provide covering fire, illustrating a blend of eras in combat.
2.To combat the relentless drone threat, Ukrainian forces have ingeniously employed a variety of makeshift anti-air systems, from mounted Kalashnikovs to commercial drones engaging in aerial duels, and this missile-equipped crop duster fits right into that innovative spectrum.
The concept draws parallels to the “humble technical,” a civilian pickup truck or SUV modified with a machine gun or anti-tank missile. These modifications are often simple, requiring less advanced training and proving more cost-effective. The Z-137, in essence, functions as an “aerial technical,” offering a relatively inexpensive anti-drone solution.
The primary weapon system for these modified Z-137 aircraft is the Vympel R-73 missile, NATO-designated as the AA-11 Archer, a formidable short-range, infrared-guided air-to-air missile developed in the Soviet Union and in service since 1984.
In its air-launched configuration from fighter jets, the R-73 boasts a maximum range of 18.6 miles against a head-on target and 8.7 miles against a tail-on target. It is a high-off-boresight (HOBS) weapon, meaning its seeker can articulate significantly, enabling engagements against targets with off-boresight angles of up to +/-75 degrees when paired with a helmet-mounted sight.
3.While the Z-137’s launch rails appear to be the standard APU-73 adapters for the R-73, it is not immediately clear how the pilot would acquire and target aerial threats without an obvious onboard sensor system. Integration of the missile without a helmet-mounted sight is feasible, though it would limit the missile to a fixed field of view, requiring the aircraft to maneuver the target into that window.
Ukraine possesses significant experience in creating improvised air defense solutions, and with potential future integration of targeting systems like forward-looking infrared (FLIR) sensors, these aircraft could gain enhanced day and night search and targeting capabilities.
This impressive modification of an agricultural aircraft underscores Ukraine’s strategy of utilizing existing resources, including civilian assets, to swiftly bolster its crucial air defense capabilities, with the Z-137/R-73 combination specifically designed to intercept Russian long-range kamikaze drones like the Shahed/Geran-2.
4.Without dedicated sensors, the Z-137 would be most effective during daylight hours, although night-vision goggles could offer a workaround. Ultimately, the missile-armed Z-137 could be integrated into Ukraine’s established drone tracking system, which incorporates acoustic sensors, human spotters, and radar information, already utilized by mobile fire teams and ground-based air defense units.
Where data connectivity is feasible, the Z-137 could be plugged into this comprehensive system or operate with ground-control intercept (GCI) via radio. This integration would significantly enhance its situational awareness and targeting accuracy.
The sheer volume of Russian drone activity demands a comprehensive array of air defense systems within Ukraine, ranging from non-kinetic electronic warfare countermeasures to mobile fire teams with machine guns and searchlights, and even sophisticated long-range systems like the Patriot.
Although the Z-137 observed in footage is fitted with R-73 missiles, there’s a strong possibility that the aircraft could be adapted to deploy other missiles supplied to Ukraine, such as the ASRAAM, U.S.-made AIM-9L/M Sidewinders, or even the more advanced AIM-9X.
5.It is important to note that the operational status of this modified Agro Turbo is not yet confirmed; it may still be undergoing trials. It remains uncertain whether such a modification will be widely fielded. However, the precedent set by the Ukrainian Yak-52 primary training aircraft armed with a hand-held gun, used for hunting Russian reconnaissance UAVs, underscores the lengths Ukraine is willing to go to combat the drone menace.
The appearance of the missile-armed Z-137 strongly suggests that Ukraine has substantial reserves of R-73 missiles, which are highly valued for their adaptability across various air, land, and sea platforms in air defense roles.
The R-73’s adaptability is further demonstrated by its incorporation into other Ukrainian “FrankenSAMs” or improvised air defense systems. These include the Gravehawk surface-to-air missile system, developed by the UK and Denmark, which fits inside a modified ISO shipping container.
6.Additionally, Ukraine has fielded modified 9K33 Osa (SA-8 Gecko) wheeled air defense vehicles armed with R-73 missiles, replacing their usual 9M33 interceptors. The R-73 has also been deployed on Ukrainian uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), an application known as the Sea Dragon, as well as on a mobile surface-to-air missile system based on the American HMMWV platform, designated the Dragon H73 system.
The use of slow-moving aircraft for counter-drone operations is gaining traction globally. Israel has long utilized attack helicopters for this purpose, and the U.S. Army is exploring the potential of its AH-64 Apaches to engage uncrewed air systems, providing broader context for Ukraine’s Z-137 initiative.
While crewed fighter jets like Ukraine’s Su-27s and MiG-29s routinely engage in counter-drone missions, an armed agricultural plane offers a distinct operational advantage with its extended response time and potential for effective ‘picket’ patrols over specific airspace sectors.
7.The striking image of a missile-laden crop duster flying over the Ukrainian landscape serves as a poignant reminder of the nation’s persistent and pressing need for a diverse range of air defense capabilities, complementing the limited but highly effective Western systems focused on higher-tier threats.
As Russia maintains its drone bombardment campaigns, platforms like the Z-137, armed with readily available R-73s, offer a crucial and effective stopgap measure. This ongoing innovation underscores Ukraine’s determined efforts to defend its skies through resourceful and often ingenious adaptations of existing assets, civilian or military.
This new type of air defense solution for small arms has shown significant adaptability. Ukraine continues to develop and deploy these unique systems, demonstrating a firm determination to protect its territory from the evolving threats of modern warfare, reusing crop dust collectors one by one.
