Little evidence showing Ukraine attacked Russian airfield with ‘cardboard’ drones

Reports are swirling, saying Ukraine used cardboard kamikaze drones to attack the Kursk airfield in Russia. But did it really happen?

Cardboard drones from Australia used in attack on Russian airfield.

Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko said the Kursk airfield was a “legitimate target” for Ukraine’s armed forces.

“Russia uses that airport to launch military operations and send missiles…

— Vasyl Myroshnychenko (@AmbVasyl) August 29, 2023

On Aug. 27, the Kyiv Post quoted an anonymous source in the Security Services of Ukraine (SBU). The source said Ukraine used kamikaze drones from Australia to attack the Kursk airbase.

Four Su-30 fighter jets, a MIG-29 and two Pantsir air defense systems were reportedly destroyed, along with the radar system to an S-300 missile launcher.

A popular pro-Russian military blogger known as Fighterbomber posted on his Telegram channel about an attack at the airfield. Fighterbomber said Ukraine used a swarm of lightweight cardboard drones in the attack.

The military blogger noted some of the drones were armed with warheads and some were not.

According to media reports, Kursk airfield was attacked by drones last night.

Reportedly, the drones targeted four Su-30 aircraft, one MIG-29, as well as the S-300 system and two Pantsir. According to sources of Ukrainian media RBC-Ukraine, NV, and UP in Ukrainian Security… pic.twitter.com/Kc0d24pBqD

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 27, 2023

The drone in question is officially called the Corvo Precision Payload Delivery System, or PPDS.

The systems are made by SYPAQ, an Australian-based defense contractor. The PPDS comes flat-boxed, designed to be quickly assembled in the field and launched. They’re made mostly of a waxed, cardboard-like material, meaning they are extremely hard to spot on radar.

The PPDS uses an electric-powered propeller to achieve flight.

The PPDS weighs a little over five pounds, and has a payload capacity over six pounds.

Depending on how it’s equipped, the PPDS can stay in the air for up to three hours, but it has a maximum range of about 75 miles. So, if the attack on the Kursk airfield involved a swarm of PPDS drones, they were likely launched from inside Russia.

This is a plausible scenario. Ukraine is launching more attacks inside Russian territory. Straight Arrow News reported on those attacks previously. Also, the Russian Ministry of Defense did acknowledge a Ukrainian attack in Kursk on Aug. 27. The Russian ministry said two air-craft style UAVs were shot down over Kursk.

The Russian Ministry of Defense often tries to downplay its losses. It’s also not outside the realm of possibility Russia doesn’t want to report that a fleet of cardboard drones took out multiple pieces of equipment that cost millions of dollars.

Once again, this is a cursory examination. Commercial satellite imagery has its limitations. Small damage could exist that did not cause secondaries, but any widespread damage is clearly not the case.

— Tyler Rogoway (@Aviation_Intel) August 28, 2023

However, satellite imagery from the day after the alleged attack shows no signs of damage at the Kursk airfield. Tyler Rogoway, editor-in-chief of The Warzone, analyzed the imagery. Rogoway said fighter jets and helicopters can be observed out in the open, and there were little signs of damage at the base, if any.

Many in Western media continue to report the Kursk airfield attack as fact, even if the assertion is based on the report of one anonymous source.

The lack of evidence of a major attack at the airfield, however, can’t be ignored.