The armed forces of the russian federation began to widely use Parodiya [Parody] drones, which are made of plywood and thanks to Luneburg lenses it looks like a Shahed on radar screens. The number of such false targets in one mass launch of Shaheds can reach 50%.
This was reported by Defense Express with reference to data from the Air Force.
The russian federation is creating tactics in which false targets should not only turn air defense assets on themselves, but also create real "corridors" for the flight of attack drones in Ukrainian air defense systems. But the real effectiveness of such means is much lower than Moscow could count on.
The Parody drones are compared with the similar Gerbera drone, which the russian federation manufactures from foam plastic, in terms of its use as a false target. Parody is a higher quality product compared to Gerbera and the published photos show that this drone is made in more detail.
On radar screens, it looks like a much larger Shahed due to the Luneburg lens. This sphere is partially covered with foil and reflects radar radiation with high gain.
Gerbera actively uses hot-melt glue and various self-tapping screws.
The electronics in both products are generally similar: only components available on the civilian market are used. For example, at Gerbera, all electronics cost no more than USD 100-200, and the most expensive component of a drone is its engine.
It is reported that in October, out of a record number of UAVs (strike and fake), only 4.83% hit the targets, the rest were shot down, suppressed by EW or simply "lost in location". In August 2024, when there were still almost no false targets, 818 russian drones showed an efficiency of 3.18%. That is, the increase in drones 2.5 times led to an increase in efficiency by only 1.65%, that is, within the statistical margin of error, analysts note, referring to the statistics of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the aggressor country of russia uses decoy drones without a warhead and with a 3D-printed bullet wrapped in foil for attacks on Ukraine. Such drones make up almost half of all those launched over Ukraine.
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