A few days ago, I happened upon a video by one Wes O’Donnell (again) in which he referred to a cardboard drone made in Australia and shipped to Ukraine1.
The SYPAQ Corvo Precision Payload Delivery System (PPDS) is an Australian-designed fixed-wing drone that became widely known as the “cardboard drone” because much of its airframe is made from waxed, reinforced foamboard, (a waxed cardboard-like material) rather than conventional composites or metal. It was developed by Australian company SYPAQ Systems as an inexpensive, expendable logistics aircraft before being supplied to Ukraine2.
The material is exceptionally low cost, and can be shipped as a kit in a flat-pack, and assembled where it is needed. It is very lightweight, very cheap to manufacture and despite being made out of foamboard, it can operate in rain. The wings are attached to the fuselage using rubber bands!3
The Corvo PPDS is a small autonomous aircraft that has a payload of about 3 kilograms, a range of up to 120 kilometres and can fly autonomously without requiring input from controllers. The operator plans the route before launch and then lets it go. It can also return and land autonomously2.
The drone was originally designed for precision logistics, not as a weapon. It was intended to simply be a system to deliver such things as ammunition, medical supplies, food, batteries, radios, spare parts and anything else to remote sites. It was a way of delivering these things without putting lives or expensive vehicles or helicopters in danger2.
It has been used in Ukraine for just over three years and in addition to its logistics delivery, the Ukrainians have adapted it for reconnaissance, and have modified some of the PPDS aircraft to carry explosive payloads for one-way attacks on military targets. Ukrainian forces reportedly used the PDDS cardboard drones in an attack on an airfield in Kursk Oblast in western Russia in August 2023. The attack damaged a Mig-29 and four Su-30 fighter jets, two Pantsir anti-aircraft missile launchers, gun systems, and an S-300 air surface-to-air missile defence system3.
Its advantages include: very low cost, rapid production using simple materials, easy transport, decreased radar signature compared to metal drones, and autonomous operation (overcoming jamming). This is part of a shift away from small numbers of large expensive aircraft toward large numbers of cheap autonomous drones. As I noted in a previous item on small to very small drones4, where this will end is anyone’s guess.
Sources
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV_NnWmf_ss
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sypaq_Corvo_Precision_Payload_Delivery_System
- https://theconversation.com/ukraine-war-australian-made-cardboard-drones-used-to-attack-russian-airfield-show-how-innovation-is-key-to-modern-warfare-212629
- https://blotreport.com/2026/05/31/insectoids/
No need to worry. AI will ensure there is no need to go to war to bring any country to its knees. It will have far more devastating effects if we don’t prepare defences against it, control its use, and hold the appalling techbros to account. Chances of that happening in this ludicrously complacent country? 1000/1 and blowing.