Australian-made cardboard drones playing a role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict
They’re cheap, easy to assemble and, according to the Ukrainian ground troops using them, they’re giving Russia massive headaches.
Dubbed the “cardboard killer” or the “origami of death”, an Australian contribution to Ukraine’s campaign against Russian invaders has been causing Putin’s forces considerable grief.
Late last month, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) told the Kyiv Post that Australian-made cardboard drones had damaged five fighter jets on an airfield in Russia’s west.
The Ukrainians also claim the drones damaged two missile launchers and an air-defence system.
They’re cheap, said to be easier to put together than an IKEA flatpack, and, according to the Ukrainian ground troops using them, they’re giving Russia massive headaches.
Since mid-2022, Australia has been sending 100 cardboard drones a month to Ukraine
as part of a $1.1m contract awarded to family-owned Melbourne-based company SYPAQ Systems, pumping hundreds of its Corvo Precision Payload Delivery System drones, into Ukraine.
The “cardboard planes” look like just that.
Constructed from waxed cardboard, they come flat-packed and can fly up to 120 kilometres.
The drones can carry a payload of up to five kilograms, takes an hour to assemble with glue and rubber bands, and generally costs less than $5000 per unit.
If recovered, it can be reused up to 60 times.
A pilot can operate the drones on the ground using an Android tablet, but reports suggest Ukraine primarily uses the drones unpiloted, following encrypted preset GPS coordinates to avoid detection.
SYPAQ Systems founder George Vicino previously said that while the drone was not designed to carry bombs, he acknowledged its potential to be used in such a way.
“We don’t actually control how they’re used in the field and, logically, you’d assume they may be used for that purpose.” he told a business podcast earlier this year.
“People talk about kamikaze drones. That’s exactly what they are: sophisticated aircraft with precision guidance systems.
“I call it a flying shoebox.
“Whatever you can fit in a shoebox, you can get it to people 120 km away.”
Since being credited with a role in a successful but unverified attack on a Russian airfield in Kursk in August, Ukrainians have praised the hardware.
Ukrainian ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, likened the potentially deadly drones to “something that kids would play with.”
“But when you see what it can do, it’s really amazing,” he told The Australian.
“They have been very good at inflicting lots of damage on the enemy.”
While Australia joins most Western backers of the Ukrainian war efforts in condemning any Ukrainian incursion onto Russian territory, Russian media has reported over 160 suspected aerial drone attacks this year in Russia, and Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine.
A Russian defence blogger, Fighterbomber, alleged on August 29 that Australian drones bombed a Russian airfield for the first time.
“Tonight, [Ukrainians] used them in a swarm, mixing drones with warheads with empty drones,” a translation of the post reads.
Fighterbomber did not specify the attack location.
“I don’t know exactly what engines were on the drones, but if they were electric-powered, then they were not launched from Ukraine,” they said.
Earlier this month, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed, “Australian drones are actually used to strike targets in Russia”.
She accused Australia’s government of “enthusiastically contributing to the anti-Russian campaign directed from Washington” adding “the unenviable circumstances indicating that Australia is increasingly being drawn into the conflict in Ukraine”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that he did not take responsibility for any drone attacks on Russian soil, but he believes that such attacks are “natural” and “fair”.
SYPAQ has repeatedly stated it is removed from any on-the-ground decision made by Ukrainian forces regarding the use of its drones.
Earlier this month, SYPAQ’s general manager Michael Partridge told a defence publication that the Corvo was initially designed “for a blood bag.”
He understood Ukrainian forces were using the drones to attach GoPro cameras for gathering intelligence.
David Vicino, SYPAQ Systems’ Managing Director, told news.com.au the company could not comment on particulars for “operational reasons” but confirmed the total number of units already in Ukraine “is in the hundreds”.
A Defence spokesperson told news.com.au “all exports of equipment to support the Government of Ukraine have been subject to Australia’s export control legislation, including consideration of international obligations, particularly international humanitarian law.”
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Australia’s overall assistance to Ukraine so far totals approximately $890 million.
Among Australia’s contributions to Ukraine are 120 Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles, six M777 155mm lightweight towed howitzers with ammunition, 56 M113AS4 Armoured Vehicles, 14 Special Operations Vehicles, 28 MAN 40M medium trucks with 14 trailers, and de-mining equipment to help with the removal of explosive ordnance on the battlefield. Additionally, anti-armour weapons have also been included in this support.
Around 70 ADF personnel are also in the United Kingdom, helping train Ukrainian troops.
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