Five Russian jets were destroyed in an attack by Ukrainian forces last week “by cardboard drones that were as easy to put together as an Ikea flat pack.”
- The drones cost just £2,750 each and have been used in Ukraine since March
- The Australian government has secured a £16 million contract to supply 100 copies per month
- Ukraine has bombarded Russia with a series of drone strikes in recent days
Cardboard drones as easy to assemble as an Ikea flat pack are believed to have destroyed five Russian jets in an attack by Ukrainian forces.
A Kiev security service official said four Su-30 planes and a Mig-29 fighter jet were hit at Kursk airfield just across the Russian border.
Last weekend’s attack, which reportedly involved 16 drones, also damaged two Pantsir missile launchers and the radar of an S-300 air defense system.
A prominent pro-Russian blogger reported that cardboard self-assembly drones sold from Australia to Ukraine “for the first time” were at the center of the operation.
The armament is called Corvo Precision Payload Delivery System (PPDS) and was developed by the Australian manufacturer Sypaq.
The drones, which are believed to be virtually undetectable by radar, can fly 75 miles at 60 km/h and carry up to 3kg of load
They cost just £2,750 each and have been in Ukraine since March after the Australian government secured a £16 million contract to supply 100 a month.
They come in 60cm long flat packs and can be assembled in about an hour.
They are made from a lightweight panel called “waxed cardboard” and feature a military-grade propeller and navigation system.
Incredibly, they are partially held together by rubber bands.
The drones, which are believed to be virtually undetectable by radar, can fly 75 miles at 60 km/h and carry up to 3kg of load.
A camera can be installed for use in reconnaissance missions.
It comes amid Ukrainian forces bombarding Russia with a series of drone strikes in recent days – the latest of which occurred last night.
In the early hours of Friday, Russian air defense units “neutralized” an unidentified object in the western Pskov region – the same region where a Ukrainian drone strike hit military transport aircraft earlier this week.
Governor Mikhail Wedernikov posted a video on Telegram showing fire being directed through the air. He said there was no damage to the ground.
The armament is called Corvo Precision Payload Delivery System (PPDS) and was developed by the Australian manufacturer Sypaq
A four-hour wave of drones that Moscow blamed on Ukraine struck Pskov airport near Russia’s borders with Estonia and Latvia on Wednesday, damaging four Il-76 military transport planes, according to local reports.
The airport is about 700 kilometers (400 miles) north of the Ukrainian border.
A Russian Emergencies Ministry source confirmed the attack on Princess Olga Pskov Airport, saying: “As a result of a drone attack, four Il-76 aircraft were damaged.” A fire broke out. “Two planes are on fire.”
Incredible before and after satellite images shared on social media appear to show the destruction of an Il-76 military aircraft.
A total of six Russian regions – Pskov, Kaluga, Orlov, Ryazan and Moscow – were targeted by the barrage during the 18-month war.
Footage shared on social media showed huge explosions lighting up the night sky over the airport, which is 40 miles from neighboring Baltic, NATO and EU countries Estonia and Latvia.
Kyiv officials typically neither claim nor deny responsibility for attacks on Russian soil, although they sometimes refer to them indirectly.
Mr. Zelensky’s remark was the clearest indication that Ukraine was behind the attack.
According to Russian transport officials, the attack forced the closure of Pskov airport, but it reopened on Thursday.