Ukraine has discovered advanced anti-jamming antennas on Russia's low-cost Gerbera decoy drones, indicating a significant surge in production capacity for critical military components. These antennas, part of Russia's Kometa family, now feature 12-element arrays, enhancing resistance to electronic warfare—a key tactic Ukraine employs to neutralize incoming drones.
Serhii 'Flash' Beskrestnov, a top Ukrainian drone analyst and defense advisor, reported the findings Wednesday. 'Recently, 12-element Kometa antennas have begun to appear on the Gerberas,' Beskrestnov stated. 'This is a sign that the plant producing Kometa has increased its production capacity.' He noted that just a year ago, Russia faced three-to-five-month delays for these antennas, even for higher-priority precision glide bombs.
Shift in Priorities
The Gerbera, typically constructed from foam or plywood, serves as a decoy to absorb Ukrainian air defense munitions, protecting the more expensive Geran-2 attack drones, Russia's version of Iran's Shahed-136. While Gerberas cost around $10,000 each to produce, Geran-2 drones are valued between $35,000 and $80,000. Historically, Russia minimized costs by equipping Gerberas with basic or no jamming protection, later upgrading to cheaper Iranian four-element antennas.
'Russia traditionally saved heavily on costs for the Gerbera,' Beskrestnov explained. 'Now, they’re reserving their most advanced, 16-element antennas—some of Chinese origin—for higher-priority systems.'
Strategic Impact
The upgrade reflects Russia's broader effort to bolster its drone warfare capabilities amid ongoing Ukrainian strikes on Russian military infrastructure. Earlier this month, Ukraine targeted the VNIIR-Progress complex in Cheboksary, a key production site for anti-jamming antennas, though the extent of damage remains unclear. With Gerberas increasingly equipped as both decoys and scouting tools, Russia demonstrates its ability to adapt and scale critical technologies despite production challenges.