Kyiv’s killer flat-pack cardboard drones takes down five Russian jets | World | News
Flat-pack cardboard drones were used by Ukraine to destroy five jets at a key Russian air base and inflict major damage inside the country.
The devices from Australia, which cost just £2,750 each, have been in Kyiv’s hands since March, following a £15.7million deal with Canberra to supply 100 a month.
The low-tech framework may be largely made with wax-impregnated paper and rubber bands, but it is packed with a military-grade guidance system.
Their maker, Australian firm SYPAQ, claims they are easier to assemble than flat-pack furniture.
They are said to be so light, they can be launched by catapult…or even thrown like a giant paper plane.
The drones arrive with a lightweight board frame, propeller unit and an avionics system, which troops can programme with a target location.
Each can carry up to 6.6lb and has a wingspan of just 6ft 6in, making it useful for dropping off medicines or ammunition.
However, Ukraine’s SBU security service said they were used to hit a Mig-29 and four Su-30 fighter jets in an attack on Kursk airfield in western Russia last weekend. Two Pantsir missile launchers and the radar of an S-300 air defence system were also thought to have been damaged in the strike.
An unnamed SBU officer said 16 drones had been launched at the target. Three were shot down in the attack, which was acknowledged by Russia’s defence ministry. The drones are also believed to have been used in several other strikes inside Russia.
SYPAQ has not said whether its drones have been involved in lethal or destructive missions.
But in March, the Ukrainian ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, said: “I know it’s been used for those purposes.”
The cardboard nature of the drones, made primarily of rubber bands and wax-saturated paper, is thought to make them practically invisible to Russian radar.
Oklahoma State University drone researcher, Jamey Jacob, said: “Cardboard is transparent to radar, so harder to spot. The radar will pick up things such as electric motors, batteries, and propellers, but not the cardboard.”
Meanwhile, fresh drone strikes were reported in annexed Crimea and in Moscow yesterday, causing Kremlin forces to close airports.
Russia also launched an overnight barrage of rockets and drones on Kyiv as the warring countries traded attacks. Ukraine said its air defence forces shot down more than 20.