Russians are known for trying to jam up Ukrainian air defenses with decoy drones, but the Ukrainians are using the same tricks against their invaders.
Russian Telegram channel Dva Maiora (Two Majors) on 5 October posted pictures of what appears to be a grounded, fixed-wing UAV, claiming it was discovered in Crimea. Ukraine attacked occupied Crimea on 6 October, hitting a refinery that’s been burning for three days.
Two Ukrainian military sources confirmed to Euromaidan Press that Ukraine does use decoy drones to break paths through Russian air defenses.
This improves Ukraine’s odds of hitting Russian targets behind the front lines or striking deeper at strategic targets like refineries or materiel factories inside Russia’s territory. A recent attack deep in Russia disabled 40% of one of the largest refineries, causing Moscow’s ongoing fuel crisis to worsen.
How Ukraine’s decoys work
The Ukrainian sources, who asked not to be identified for security, did not confirm whether the specific object reported on Telegram is part of this strategy.
The unit looks to be propeller-driven. Its size and dimensions are consistent with those of a light strike drone, which typically mounts small warheads of up to several kilograms.
These are effective against infantry, lightly armored vehicles, or unfortified ammunition storage behind enemy lines.
The frame looks to have a plastic outer shell. One of the horizontal tail stabilizers is snapped off, revealing what appears to be plywood sandwiched between the plastic.
The Ukrainian sources said decoy drones can make Russian weapons fire on them, giving a window for real drones with real warheads to fly past while the enemy is reloading.
The sheer breadth of the front line, plus the massive size of Russia’s territory, makes this tactic possible. The Russians cannot effectively shield such a large area without leaving gaps that Ukrainians have been able to exploit.
The decoys’ other use is to make the opponent waste single-use UAVs on trying to intercept them, one of the sources said.
Moscow cries copycat
The Russian Telegram channel states that Ukraine is “adopting the positive experience of our own ‘Gerbera’ decoys.”
The Russian Gerbera is a cheap, simplified version of its relative, the Shahed, which has been regularly swarming Ukrainian cities in the hundreds. Gerberas use plywood and styrofoam in their construction to reduce cost, and are often used as decoys to jam up air defenses.
The Russian Telegram channel also referenced Ukraine’s use of balloons in its attacks on Russia.
Similar reports appeared after Ukraine’s overnight attack on Russia on 22-23 September — multiple Russian sources claimed that balloons containing explosive objects were observed drifting over their territory.
Ukraine has drone balloons, which can mount FPV repeaters, communicators, cameras, electronic countermeasures, or serve as carriers for smaller drones.
Russian reports have also expressed concerns that these balloons may carry supplies for saboteurs operating inside their territory.