Russia is unable to detect airplanes made of cardboard and rubber bands by inspection.
Ukraine’s security service, the SBU, says it damaged five Russian fighter jets at Kursk Airport last weekend. According to several experts following the war, Ukraine would have used Corvo drones made of cardboard for the first time in the attack.
The strike damaged not only four Su-30 fighters and one MiG-29 fighter, but also two Pantsir missile launchers and the S-300 anti-aircraft system, says an SBU employee who remains anonymous For Kyiv Post.
Corvo PPDS (Precision Payload Delivery System) is an unmanned aerial vehicle developed by the Australian company SYPAQ. According to the agreement between Ukraine and Australia, Ukraine has received hundreds of Corvo drones every month since March. It was originally designed for reconnaissance and delivery of small items, but in Ukraine it has been modified for offensive attacks.
The special feature of the Corvo drone is that it is mainly made of coated cardboard. It weighs only 2.4 kilograms, but depending on the type, it can carry a load of 3 to 5 kilograms, for example a bomb, to a distance of 120 kilometers, the company says.
American writer specializing in weapon technology Chuck Pfarrer shows off the drone on his X account.
Australian Armed Forces soldiers have been testing the Corvo lineup since 2019. Everything needed for assembly can be found in a package slightly larger than a family pizza box.
Using the instructions, soldiers can fold the drone’s body into the right shape, install the lightweight motor, battery and control system, and attach the wings with strong rubber bands and glue. The wrench is only needed to attach the propeller, he says Grounded curiosity weapon technology publication.
Electronic interference does not affect
The Corvo drone is launched using a small catapult. Before this, the flight route is programmed into its computer. Programming is made so simple that any soldier can do it in minutes.
The drone therefore flies with its own control and does not need, for example, a GPS signal. For this reason, it ignores conventional electronic interference, such as GPS signal interference.
The cheap cardboard structure shows up very poorly on the radar, so there’s that almost impossible to detect.
Cardboard drones also have the advantage of being cheap. The price of one Corvo PPDS is estimated at around 3,500 euros. If the information about the attack by Corvo drones on the Kursk airbase is true, it has been a very profitable military operation for Ukraine. The value of the Russian Su-30 fighter is tens of millions of euros.
The Russian media confirms
The modus operandi of the Kursk offensive cannot be confirmed by unbiased sources. However, the Telegram channel @fighterbomber, which closely follows the Russian Air Force, said shortly after the Kyiv Post news that Kursk had been attacked by Australian drones.
In addition, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko confirmed the matter on his own account in the messaging service X (formerly Twitter).
“Cardboard drones” are presented by Military-TV With a YouTube video.
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