Ukraine Now Using “Cardboard Drones” to Devastate Russian Airfields

If there were a single phrase that could define the Ukrainian war effort, specifically its attack capabilities, it would be “bang for the buck.” In the summer of last year, I marveled at Ukraine’s ‘MacGyver’ army and its ability to do more with less. A year later Ukraine is still showing the world how wars will be fought in the decades to come. Named after Edgar Allen Poe’s favorite bird, the raven, Ukraine is now using the Australian-made Corvo Precision Payload Delivery System (PPDS) to destroy Russian aircraft. The Corvo PPDS is an ultra-light drone with an airframe made of waxed cardboard (waxed to make it waterproof) and supplied as a self-assembly flatpack. You read that right — this diminutive war machine is shipped like a piece of furniture from IKEA. Except, unlike Swedish furniture, the Corvo PPDS is held together with only sticky tape, rubber bands, and glue that is supplied with the shipment. While some employees of the company call it waxed cardboard, the <a href="https://corvouas.com.au/wp-content/uploads/CORVO-PPDS-web-version-23082023-compressed.pdf" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">product spec sheet</a> says the airframe is made of lightweight foldable foam board. As you might imagine, this makes the drone exceptionally cheap — it has a price tag of only $670–$3,350 depending on the version and quantity. Meanwhile, the U.S. is <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pentagon-budget-price-gouging-military-contractors-60-minutes-2023-05-21/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">spending over $10,000</a> for a single oil filter for the Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. As far as specs, the Corvo has a range of 75 miles and can travel at speeds more than 35 mph for one to three hours. <a href="https://wesodonnell.medium.com/ukraine-now-using-cardboard-drones-to-devastate-russian-airfields-a344bb7b9b14">Learn More</a>