• Gerbera? Russia's Long-Range Drone Enters Ukraine Battlefield

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    What Is Gerbera? Russia's Long-Range Drone Enters Ukraine Battlefield
    Published Jul 31, 2024 at 12:33 PM EDT
    Updated Jul 31, 2024 at 3:08 PM EDT

    00:17
    Russian Drones Shot Down In "Massive" Attack By Ukraine
    By Ellie Cook
    Security & Defense Reporter
    FOLLOW
    73
    After many long months of contending with long-range Shahed drone
    strikes, Ukraine may already be coming up against the Shahed's "younger sister," also known as the Gerbera drone.

    Ukrainian media reported earlier this week that a new, previously unseen Russian drone design was discovered near Kyiv on July 24.

    Days later, a video published by a Russian military drone unit dubbed
    "Stalin's Falcons" on Sunday, was linked by Ukrainian media to the same
    drone.

    Posting to messaging app Telegram, the Russian unit called the Gerbera
    drone the "younger sister" of the Geran drone. Geran is the Russian term
    used to describe the Iranian-designed Shahed variant that Moscow has
    heavily relied on to hit Ukraine, associated with a distinctive buzzing
    sound as they approach a target.

    Ukraine and Russia have been engaged in a rapidly evolving drone race
    since the start of Moscow's invasion in early 2022. Uncrewed aerial
    vehicles dominate the skies above the battlefields, and Kyiv's airborne
    drones are famous for long-range strikes on Russian assets. Ukraine is
    also known for its naval drones, and both sides are developing ground
    drones.

    Gerbera drones
    A screenshot of a video posted to Telegram by a Russian military drone
    unit showing the Gerbera drones. Ukrainian media reported that a new
    Russian drone design was discovered near Kyiv on July 24. STALIN'S FALCONS/TELEGRAM
    Since the initial months of full-scale war, Moscow has consistently
    targeted Ukraine with Iranian-designed Shahed drones. Russia has moved
    toward domestically producing the drones—reportedly at a facility in the central Russian region of Tatarstan—and is known to have adapted the
    designs to try to evade Ukrainian air defenses.

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    Ukraine's Air Force has typically reported a handful of overnight drone
    attacks for consecutive days or weeks, followed by occasional larger
    barrages.

    Early on Wednesday, Kyiv's military said it had intercepted all 89
    Shahed drones fired by Russia overnight, primarily targeting Ukraine's
    capital. The air force described it as one of the "most massive" Shahed
    drone attacks on Ukraine and the largest since the start of the year.

    Ukrainian media reported that the drone discovered around Kyiv was made
    of foam plastic and carried a Ukrainian SIM card.

    Andriy Cherniak, a spokesperson for Ukraine's GUR military intelligence
    agency, told Reuters earlier this month that Moscow had started using
    new, cheap long-range drones, often made of foam plastic or plywood, to
    scope out Ukraine's air defenses.

    Andriy Kramarov, a Ukrainian Air Force reservist and military expert,
    told Newsweek that the Gerbera drone's camera can transmit video back to Russian operators, giving information for targeting high-value Ukrainian systems like the Patriot, National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile
    System (NASAMS), or smaller air defense systems that intercept Russian
    missiles and drones.

    The Gerbera reportedly found around Kyiv did not have a warhead fitted,
    and Ukrainian media speculated that it may have been a prototype of a multifunctional system deployed to gauge the range of the new device. It
    may also be used for reconnaissance or as a decoy to detect air defenses
    when they activate, as well as striking targets, according to the reports.

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    Samuel Bendett of the CNA, a Washington-based nonprofit for research and analyses, argued that there is a general trend toward multifunctional
    drones.

    Kramarov said the Gerbera is kitted out with a relatively small warhead
    because the multifunctional drone needs room for camera equipment.

    Images widely circulated of the Gerbera drone show foam sliced with
    hot-wire cutters to allow it to be made quickly and using cheap, simple
    tools, United Kingdom-based drone expert Steve Wright told Newsweek.

    "The only control surfaces are 'elevons' on each wing, which combine all
    the functions needed to maneuver the drone for the fewest number of
    parts," Wright said. "The systems inside is the usual tangled web of
    systems familiar to anyone improvising using any components to hand."

    The reportedly low cost and relatively long range of the Gerbera drone
    could indicate it may be used on a larger scale at some point in the
    war, Bendett told Newsweek.

    "It is a very sleek-looking drone that does not possess any new
    technological features but has been refined for cheap mass production,"
    Wright said. However, this type of inexpensive drone poses a real danger
    to Ukraine, he said.

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    About the writer
    Ellie Cook
    FOLLOW
    Ellie Cook is a Newsweek security and defense reporter based in London,
    U.K. Her work focuses largely on the Russia-Ukraine ... read more

    To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, click here.

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