© Defense Visual Information Distribution Service Specialists emphasize the availability of a fitting plane.
The U.S. armed forces are contending with the necessity to not just successfully, but also cost-effectively eliminate Shahed-like kamikaze UAVs, which Iran employs to assault American and allied interests in the Persian Gulf. Specialists from the information and analytical firm Defense Express suggest that Washington possesses an appropriate “Shahed interceptor” virtually “at hand”. It concerns modernized aircraft, namely the Cessna C-208 Caravan.
A costly response to inexpensive UAVs
At present, the United States relies on Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II attack planes or fighters to engage UAVs, yet this is excessively expensive when considered against the cost of the unmanned systems.
On the contrary, Ukraine utilizes, among others, the An-28 transport aircraft to down adversary drones. This approach is being adopted by Poland, which is pushing the determination to neutralize “Shaheeds” using the PZL M28 Skytruck aircraft, bearing in mind the practice of combating cheap drones with costly F-35 fighters using AIM-120 missiles.
Analysts indicate that the United States already possesses a ready platform for such objectives – the Cessna C-208 Caravan, featuring a combat variant known as the AC-208 Combat Caravan. It was developed in 2008 for deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan. The plane was equipped with an updated cockpit, fundamental armor, an optical aiming apparatus, and the capability to launch AGM-114 Hellfire missiles.
What makes it more efficient?
Enhanced iterations, like MAG Aerospace's MC-208 Guardian, present elevated functionalities, encompassing additional hardpoints and enhanced communication infrastructures. Simultaneously, it persists in being offered to special operations squads.
“Currently, the Americans do not view the aircraft as a platform that can linger in the airspace for extended durations with minimal operational expenditure and support 4 APKWS munitions against the Shahed, despite it also featuring a wide aperture on its flank for accommodating a Minigun machine gun emplacement, or the aptitude to deploy anti-aircraft UAVs,” experts remark.
As Defense Express emphasizes, the Cessna C-208 Caravan aircraft boasts several advantages that render it fitting for shooting down Iranian UAVs: the proficiency to initiate takeoff from brief airstrips, a cruising velocity of approximately 341 km/h, and a flight endurance of nearly 1,800 km.
According to specialists, notwithstanding the existence of these aircraft, the United States has not yet declared its intention to employ them for inexpensively countering the “Shaheeds”.
It is worth recalling that the Ukrainian military leveraged an FPV drone to obliterate a Russian Mi-8 transport and combat helicopter valued at over $10 million.