Our cardboard killers taking fight to Putin
Cheap Australian drones made of cardboard and rubber bands are helping Ukrainian troops fight off Russian invaders, as part of a $33m commitment to supply the country with an array of unmanned systems.
At least 100 of the flat-packed drones are being supplied to Ukraine each month, allowing President Volodymyr Zelensky's forces to drop bombs, deliver supplies and undertake vital reconnaissance missions.
The Australian army is yet to purchase any of the catapult-launched aircraft for its own use, in a story familiar to many local defence sector innovators.
The unmanned aerial vehicles, made by Melbourne-based Sypaq, are designed to be expendable on the battlefield, but some in 60 flights.
Ukraine have undertaken The Precision Payload Delivery System drones are constructed from thick, wax-coated cardboard and heavy-duty rubber bands that
secure the wings.
They are controlled by a military-grade guidance system that requires no user input once the aircraft is launched.
At somewhere between $1000 and $5000 each-the exact cost is classified they can be used to overwhelm opposing forces in a contest of attrition, forcing the enemy to use more expensive hardware to take them out.
The Australian viewed the drone at the Australian International Airshow at Avalon, in Victoria, where Defence Minister Richard Marles and Ukrainian ambassador Vasyl Myroshnychenko were also provided with a first-hand briefing on the aircraft.
The Australian viewed the drone at the Australian International Airshow at Avalon, in Victoria, where Defence Minister Richard Marles and Ukrainian ambassador Vasyl Myroshnychenko were also provided with a first-hand briefing on the aircraft.
Mr Myroshnychenko said the appearance of the drone was deceptive, and they were already being used by Ukrainian soldiers for a variety of missions, including
lethal ones.
"When you look at it, it looks like something that kids would play with," the ambassador said.
"But when you see what it can do it's really amazing.
"From what I hear they have been very good at inflicting lots of damage on the enemy.
"Our drone teams within MOD are very sophisticated guys. There is a great deal of R&D and innovation going on in that department. And because they run a large number of UAVs they have become some of the best teams in the world."
Revelation of the role Australian drones were playing in Ukraine emerged as the war-torn nation denied it was behind a string of drone attacks inside Russian territory on Tuesday, including one that crashed barely 90km from the Kremlin. Russian media said the drone had fallen within metres of a gas distribution station owned by Gazprom, the state-controlled energy giant. It was identified as a UJ-22 Airborne, a strike drone with a range of almost 800km manufactured by Ukraine's Ukrjet company. Mykhailo Podolyak, a Ukrainian presidential adviser, tweeted on Thursday:
"Ukraine doesn't strike at the Russian Federation's territory. Ukraine is waging a defensive war to de-occupy all its territories."
Sypaq developed the cardboard drone, which comes in 3kg and 5kg payload sizes, to meet a need identified by the Australian army for "last-mile logistics".
It is yet to receive any ADF orders, but Sypaq chief engineer....
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