Since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, drones have become a centerpiece of modern warfare, one marked by the massive use of cheap drones for saturate air defenses. However, even if they are much cheaper than other types of weapons, Its use as loitering ammunition makes the destruction rate very high. In this context of skyrocketing volume and costs, a Japanese startup has a radical solution: disposable drones literally made of cardboard.
Disposable drones. The Japanese Minister of Defense, Shinjirō Koizumi, met with the heads of the AirKamuy company and posed with his star invention: a drone made of cardboard, designed for destruction on the battlefield. Its use is intended for countermeasures, launching swarms of drones to absorb attacks from other drones or anti-aircraft defenses. Its strong point is the cost: about $2,000 per unit. To put it in context, an Iranian Shahed drone (one of the most used by Russia) costs around $35,000, 50,000 if it is an improved model.
Details. The AirKamuy 150 is made of cardboard with a finish that makes it resistant to rain. It has an electric motor and an autonomy that allows it to fly for 80 minutes. Regarding the weight it can carry, it can only carry 3 pounds (a little over one kg), so it can only move small loads of supplies or ammunition. It is not a heavy combat drone, but a saturation tool: its value is not in what one can do, but in what many can do at the same time.
Why it is important. In a context where cost and scale are everything, AirKamuy’s bet has an overwhelming logic: if the enemy launches hundreds of cheap drones, then we launch even cheaper drones. Few materials are as cheap and easy to mass produce as cardboard, and in fact its creators claim that nothing special is needed to produce them, but that any cardboard production plant could do it. That a packaging company can become a military production line is a solution as ingenious as it is disturbing.
IKEA-style logistics. Not only is it cheaper to produce but it can also be transported in large quantities and taking up very little space. The AirKamuy 150 comes in a completely flat package, allowing 500 units to fit into a standard cargo container. Once at the destination, assembly takes just ten minutes, without the need for special tools or qualified technical personnel.
Image | Shinjiro Koizumi in X
In Xataka | Ukraine has just reinvented aerial combat with a piece from the Soviet era: a plane that fires drones
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