The last wave of Russian attacks against Ukraine has been carried out by missiles, up to 81 projectiles on the Ukrainian cities and regions most affected in this phase of the war. Among them, according to kyiv, the Kremlin has made use of a Kinzhal hypersonic missile, 20 Kalibr launched from the Black Sea Fleet and 13 S300 anti-aircraft missiles, all of them expensive and difficult to replace in the already decimated Russian arsenal. But, if this contest has been characterized by something, it is for being the first in which drones are one of the main resources, both for surveillance and attack tasks.
Since the beginning of the conflict, the skies of Ukraine have become a veritable showcase of UAS (unmanned aerial systems) on both sides. In the case of Ukraine, we have been able to see homemade drones cleverly adapted to launch grenades, more sophisticated suicide aircraft, systems capable of evading Russian anti-aircraft defenses… They all make up one of the most valuable assets of the country chaired by Volodímir Zelenski to balance the scales against Russian air power, also thanks to shipments such as the expected US Predator drones.
The last to arrive in this long list is also one of the most unique, along with the diminutive Black Hornet. This is the Corvo PPDS, manufactured by the Australian company SYPAQ, which has the peculiarity that it its fuselage is made of waxed cardboard. Conceived as a low-cost expendable logistics drone for the urgent transport of supplies, this suitably modified UAV can also carry out surveillance and reconnaissance tasks or carry and drop bombs.
cardboard and circuits
In 2019, the Melbourne-based company presented for the first time this evolution of its Corvo (raven in Italian) ecosystem, which includes both drones capable of “carry a wide variety of payloads to suit different operational requirements” and carry out surveillance tasks in real time, such as control stations and specific software.
SYPAQ began the development of this peculiar aircraft thanks to a contract with the armed forces of the oceanic country valued at 1.1 million Australian dollars (about 700,000 euros), an investment from the Center for Defense Innovation. Now the Australian government, as part of the aid it has promised to the country invaded by Russia, has begun shipments of these vehicles, which have already been used in combat.
Corvo PPDS drone with camouflage airframe
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Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko assured the Daily Express than the Corvo “It looks like something kids would play with, but when you see what it can do it’s really amazing.. They have worked very well, dealing a lot of damage to the enemy.”
Most of the exact specifications of the Corvo Precision Payload Delivery System (PPDS) are unknown, but what is known makes a big difference to other UAVs, especially when it comes to production, storage and transportation. These drones made of cardboard supplied folded flat pack.
Launch of a Corvo PPDS drone
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This design makes it much easier and cheaper to both manufacture and ship the drones: 24 units, each in a pizza-sized box, fit on a single pallet, the same as the resupply of combat rations, water, batteries or ammunition of a platoon. Its exact price is not known, but it is estimated that it will be around 2,000 euros, a figure that can increase depending on whether its initial configuration is complemented with cameras, explosives or other elements.
To build the Corvo PPDS all you need is a glue gun, a knife, a pen and adhesive tape. Other than that, the only tool needed is a wrench to fix the front propeller. “The Corvo PPDS was easy to assemble,” First Corporal Will Coyer told the military blog. Grounded Curiosity following initial testing by the Australian Army in 2019. “Some parts required attention to detail, but the precision build of the flat pack kit made it easy.”
The key is in the software
The great asset of these UAS, in addition to the design characteristics that make it unique, is the SYPAQ software. This allows you to use autopilot, plan flight with waypoints and loitering areas. The piece that controls it all is a board with integrated chips, easily connected to the engine and elevator controls.
After carrying out checks to ensure that it is correctly assembled. All it takes to get these little drones off the ground is a collapsible catapult.
Corvo PPDS drone needs a launch catapult
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the flight plan and controls run on a standard Android tablet, using its touch pad to set its trajectory points and designate a landing zone. The software is responsible for calculating the flight time and total distance, as well as ensuring that the mission can be carried out once the drone is launched, even if the connection is lost.
In the event of entering an area with a denied GPS signal or if it is interfered with during the flight, the software automatically calculates the position of the drone based on its speed and heading. If necessary, it can also be reassigned a mission in mid-flight or change the landing point.
surveillance and attack
“Following feedback from end users in Ukraine, the system has also been adapted for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions,” SYPAQ states in a press release. Its range, the only known information on its specifications, is 120 km, which would allow it to be the target designator of missile launchers as effective as the HIMARShow important they have been since their irruption in the conflict.
Another possibility is that the Corvo PPDS are used to carry out “kinetic missions”, taking advantage of its payload space to carry bombs up to 3kg. It is something similar to what the Ukrainians have been doing since the start of the war, more than a year ago, with all kinds of commercial drones, but in this case it would be supported by much more powerful and reliable software.
The most basic version of the Corvo PPDS can even be launched by hand
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Quadcopter drones, including some from DJI despite the reluctance of the Chinese brand, have contributed enormously to the Ukrainian resistance, but are very limited in terms of their range and autonomy to carry out long-range military missions. By contrast, the Corvo PPDS benefits from the lightness of its materials and its fixed-wing design to go much further.
Their cardboard fuselage means they are highly vulnerable, but their cost is so low that their loss in combat would be no setback for the Ukrainian forces. That same facility to acquire and assemble them is what allows us to imagine large swarms of drones, capable of saturating enemy anti-aircraft defenses. In fact, the Australian company is already working on swarm software, which would allow several of these devices to be controlled simultaneously from a single command center.
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