"This is the moment a Gerbera drone launches a first-person view (FPV) drone. We witness such activity every day", Serhii Beskrestnov, an advisor to Ukraine's Minister of Defense, said on 9/2.
The accompanying video shows Russia's Gerbera unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flying over Sumy city, the capital of the eponymous province in northern Ukraine, and launching an FPV drone from its back. The target of this drone is not yet clear.
Ukrainian forces previously recovered fragments of Gerbera UAVs carrying FPV drone mounts designed on a "mother-child" principle, but this is the first time footage of this operation in combat has emerged.
Moment a Gerbera UAV launches a drone in a video released on 9/2. Video: Facebook/Serhy Beskrestnov.
Beskrestnov stated that Gerbera and Molniya, another low-cost Russian UAV model, share the same drone mount. "Gerbera and Molniya are products of two different design teams. Their shared mount indicates a third party was involved in their development and is preparing for mass production. This is not good news for the Ukrainian military", Beskrestnov noted.
The Gerbera is one of the decoy UAVs deployed by Russia in coordinated attacks against Ukraine since mid-2024. The drone has a wingspan of about 2 meters. Its body is made of lightweight, inexpensive materials, then covered with radar-absorbent foam and painted black to enhance its stealth capabilities against enemy surveillance.
The original Gerbera variant's mission is to locate air defense positions for the Russian military to map enemy defense networks, and to form UAV swarms to further confuse Ukrainian air defenses, forcing them to decide which targets to shoot down quickly.
Ukrainian intelligence estimates that each Gerbera costs around 10,000 USD, just one-third the price of the Geran-2 series and significantly cheaper than the air defense missiles used to shoot them down.
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Wreckage of a Gerbera UAV and its drone mount on its back in a photo released on 9/2. Photo: RusVesna.
The "mother-child" UAV design allows the drone to increase its operational range and access high-value targets deeper behind enemy lines. This helps them avoid detection and conserve battery life for longer reconnaissance and target acquisition missions compared to flying to the designated area independently.
Ukrainian experts state that these drone-carrying UAVs indicate Russia is continuing to test low-cost unmanned aircraft to expand its attack range. They warn that such UAVs could complicate Ukraine's early warning and interception efforts.
Nguyen Tien (According to AP, United 24, RusVesna)
