War in Ukraine: Made of foam and plywood, what are Gerbera, the low-cost drones used by Russia ?

While Ukraine has just received its first F-16 fighters, Russia has reportedly developed a cheap drone that could prove dangerous for Kiev.

Ukraine can count on the help of its Western allies both in the issue of military armament and in the financial aspect. The first long-awaited F-16 fighter jets have finally been delivered to Kiev to defend against Russia. Putin's army also has a weapon that Ukraine fears: a new low-cost drone, according to the magazine Géo.

Foam drones

Russia is known for its daily drone attacks (like Ukraine), but also for Iranian Shahed-136 missiles. These have a range of more than 1,000 miles and would cost just $20,000, which is cheap.

But Vladimir Putin's troops are reportedly using a new weapon, recently discovered at the end of July: Gerbera drones, or “little sisters” of the Shahed-136s, the magazine says.

Its mission is to identify Ukrainian air defenses targeting them, with Western weapons in its sights. The Gerbera are made of plastic foam and plywood. With these basic materials, the manufacturing cost is low, which is a real advantage for Russia, underlines Andriy Cherniak, a spokesman for the Ukrainian military intelligence service (GUR) interviewed by the agency Reuters.

Where it gets interesting for the armed forces The Kremlin's goal is to be able to spot Ukrainian war machines (especially anti-aircraft missiles), to gather a lot of information in enemy territory, and to do this at a lower cost.

For However, the conflict has been bogged down for many months, particularly on the north-eastern front, although Russia has managed to capture some small villages in recent weeks. Will the new low-cost drones change the situation? for the continuation of the conflict ?