Russia Uses Gerbera Drones to Drop Armed FPVs Over Ukrainian Border Regions

Russian forces are using Gerbera-type drones to drop armed FPV munitions over Ukrainian border regions, with explosive payloads recovered intact dozens of kilometers behind the front line, Oboronka reported on May 7.

Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov, an advisor to Ukraine's Minister of Defense and a specialist in electronic warfare and communications, disclosed the development on his Telegram channel. He confirmed that the dropped FPVs, each carrying an explosive charge, have been documented at distances of more than 30 kilometers from the Russian border.

Beskrestnov noted that one such FPV fitted with a warhead was discovered on the roof of a multistory residential building, while another identical drone had been recovered the previous day on a city street. He published photographs of both the munition and the airframe of the recovered FPV.

"Warn children and do not try to pick up unfamiliar finds," Beskrestnov wrote, urging residents in affected areas to treat any unidentified object as live ordnance and to alert authorities rather than approach the wreckage.

The disclosure marks an escalation of a tactic first documented in early February 2026, when Beskrestnov reported the initial recovery of Gerbera wreckage fitted with a mounting system designed to carry an FPV drone.

Days later, he released a video showing an FPV being launched in flight from a Gerbera over Sumy, noting that such use was already being recorded daily.

The Gerbera, originally fielded by Russia in mid-2024 as a low-cost decoy mimicking the Iranian-designed Shahed-136, has progressively been adapted into a multi-mission platform.

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