From plywood and with foreign electronics: the DIU told about Russian “Herbera” UAVs

The Herbera unmanned aerial vehicles used by Russia to strike at the territory of Ukraine are made of plywood and contain foreign-made components. This was reported by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, UNN reports.

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"The aggressor state of Russia assembles such multitasking UAVs at a factory in the city of Yelabuga. The "herber" device can carry a combat unit like a kamikaze and conduct electronic reconnaissance, in particular to detect air defense positions and record hits from other attack drones," the DIU reported  .

According to intelligence reports, this UAV imitates the Shahed-136/Geranj-2 and is massively used by Russia to overload Ukrainian air defense. "Due to the use of simple materials (plywood, foam), the Herbera is ten times cheaper than the Shahed/Geranium. However, the structure of this drone contains a set of components from foreign manufacturers that are already familiar to Russian weapons," the DIU added.

According to them, during the investigation of the downed samples of these UAVs, experts found that the Russians were manufacturing "herbers" based on a Chinese prototype using foreign  components imported from China. In particular, the UAV's developer is the Chinese model aircraft manufacturer Skywalker Technology Co., Ltd. which also produces fuselages and organizes the supply of kits to Russia. According to Ukrainian intelligence, the deliveries are made through third-party companies. 

The Herbera's noise-rejecting antenna (CRPA) contains chips from Analog Devices and Texas Instruments (USA), NXP Semiconductors (Netherlands). The universal flight controller also contains components manufactured by Texas Instruments, Atmel (USA), STMicroelectronics, U-Blox (Switzerland), NXP Semiconductors (Netherlands), and XLSEMI (China). To allow the pilot to target the barrage version of the UAV (using the FPV drone principle) and conduct aerial reconnaissance, the "herber" is equipped with a Chinese camera with a Topotek KHY10S90 three-axis gimbal and a Xingkai Tech Mesh Network XK-F358 modem. The DLE60 engine is manufactured by the Chinese Mile Hao Xiang Technology Co, Ltd. In the summer of 2024, this company was sanctioned by the United States for supplying to Russia.

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The Russians are constantly trying to modify and modernize all types of missiles and drones they have, which they use to attack Ukraine. Experts from the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise (Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise) in a commentary to UNN told, what features are involved and what role Western components play in the changes of enemy weapons. The enemy uses not only Western components. According to Oleksandr Ruvin, director of the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise, components for UAVs used by the enemy to attack Ukraine are supplied by about 50 manufacturers from China.

The KFI also reported that during the attacks on the territory of Ukraine on October 26-29, the Russians used attack drones with thermobaric warheads. 

In addition, experts of the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise found that the Russian X-69 missiles used by the occupiers to hit Ukraine are made of several types of weapons and have foreign components.