Weapons of mass deception: What are decoy drones and how Russia and its allies are trying to bypass air defense

Contents

1. What decoy UAVs are and what they’re used for
2. What types of decoy drones Russia produces
3. Chinese decoy drones
4. Decoy UAVs from Iran, North Korea, and Belarus

This report was prepared in partnership with the Consortium for Defense Information (CDI), a joint project by Ukrainian research and analytical organizations focused on strengthening information and analysis in the fields of national security, defense, and geopolitics.

What decoy UAVs are and what they’re used for

Decoy drones are UAVs built to imitate the behavior and characteristics of real combat drones. Their main task is to disrupt detection and interception systems targeting air threats.

Cheap decoy UAVs force the enemy to waste expensive missiles on fake targets. They also play a key role in tactics for breaking through air defense systems. By flooding the airspace with decoys, the attacker overloads sensors and throws off thermal and radar-guided missiles.

Russia’s war against Ukraine, especially after the full-scale invasion, has pushed the development of these systems forward.

Gerbera drone, photo: x.com/distant_earth83

"The use of such technologies goes beyond the tactical level. It shows real progress in creating cheap, autonomous, and highly effective tools for camouflage that can mimic the key signals of actual targets, whether acoustic, visual, thermal, or radar," CDI reports.

Russia and its partners in drone development are trying to balance low production costs with experimental tech, working on decoy swarms, modular platforms, and advanced electronic or thermal signature mimics. The goal is to beat modern air defense. The method: overload and deception instead of direct strikes, it’s about confusing sensors, not destroying them. In other words, this could mark a shift in how air warfare is being conducted.

What types of decoy drones Russia produces

The main Russian decoy drones are the Geran/Gerbera and the Parody (Parodiya). They entered service with the Russian military in 2023–24. These drones copy the Iranian Shahed-136 kamikaze drone, using the same delta-wing shape and flight pattern.

The first reports of a new, unidentified Russian drone appeared in the second half of July 2024. On the night of July 24, one of these drones was shot down over Kyiv for the second time, it crashed in open terrain and was mostly intact.

Defense Express analysts, describing the drone, noted it is "assembled with a rather low production culture" — the body is made of foam plastic, and the interior is lined with plywood. Inside are navigation systems, flight controls, batteries, and a 4G modem with a SIM card from a Ukrainian mobile operator. It carries no warhead.

“If you build drones out of plywood, foam, and plastic, it might seem like a joke because it won’t look very serious. But this kind of drone is actually more effective — it’s harder for radar to detect. If you also use certain paints, it’s harder to see with the naked eye. And if you add a silencer to the engine, it’s harder to hear too,” explained retired National Guard Major Oleksiy Hetman, a veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war, commenting on the materials used in the Gerbera.

"The Main Intelligence Directorate has confirmed that the enemy is using these drones to locate our air defense systems or mobile strike teams," said Serhiy Zgurets, director of the Defense Express media and consulting group, on Espreso TV.

The Parody is a smaller, high-altitude drone, equipped with Luneberg lenses to mimic the radar signature of a Shahed-136. Both models use small gasoline engines that produce similar infrared and sound signatures as the actual Shahed drones.

“They copy the radar, visual, and thermal signatures of real attack drones without needing to carry a heavy payload. Russian forces launch them in big swarms along with real weapons like the Shahed-136 and Lancet. This mixed-attack tactic, known as Operation False Target, forces Ukraine to waste key resources — like mobile units and air defense missiles — on fake threats, which increases the chance that real drones break through,” explained experts from the Defense Information Consortium.

Chinese decoy drones

The CDI reports that the Chinese military closely studies foreign wars, especially for camouflage tactics. For instance, analysis of NATO’s war in Kosovo showed that using one decoy per real target boosts survivability by around 40%. A 3:1 decoy-to-real ratio forces the enemy to waste 70% more ammo and real target losses are cut in half. Based on this, China has been investing in a wide range of decoys: inflatable tanks, fake SAM launchers, and aircraft models fitted with heat emitters to mimic engine signatures.

China is also pushing ahead with drone swarm and decoy tech to counter modern infrared-guided air defense systems. In 2021, for example, a naval version of the GJ-11 stealth drone was shown, it deploys small aerial decoys that swarm toward enemy ships. These are basically mini cruise missiles without warheads, but equipped with electronic and heat-emitting systems.

Decoys are designed to create fake radar signals and thermal signatures that mimic fighter jets. Ships can also bait anti-aircraft systems into firing on these phantom targets.

Another system was developed by a team from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics: an airborne platform that splits into several smaller drones while in flight.

“This new modular drone system mimics the natural aerodynamics of a maple seed. The main drone can release up to six smaller sub-drones. Each unit can fly on its own, hover, glide, and carry out assigned tasks like surveillance, electronic warfare, tracking, and precision strikes. Turning one drone into a swarm adds unpredictability to drone warfare,” CDI notes.

A study published in Acta Aeronautica et Astronautica Sinica shows that the system, when flying as a single unit, can cover more distance faster than individual drones. After splitting, each sub-drone still maintains over 40% higher flight efficiency compared to conventional designs. This allows them to keep operating effectively even in tough conditions. The key advantage is flexibility and tactical surprise, a single drone can suddenly become multiple targets, flooding enemy radars with objects on different paths. These systems can be used for diversion before strikes, to confuse air defenses, or for real-time recon missions.

​​Decoy UAVs from Iran, North Korea, and Belarus

Iran’s military industry is actively developing loitering decoy drones meant to mislead heat-seeking missiles. For instance, the Shahed-136 isn’t just a strike drone — thanks to its mass deployment, it can also act as a decoy.

That was the case in September 2019, when the simultaneous launch of 18 drones and cruise missiles overwhelmed the defenses of a Saudi oil refinery.

Iran is also working on the HESA Sofreh Mahi stealth UAV, which features a flat, rhombus-shaped body with two vertical stabilizers. This design helps reduce radar visibility by lowering the effective reflection area.

North Korea introduced two kamikaze drones in the summer of 2024 that closely resemble the Israeli Harop and Hero-400 loitering munitions.

“These systems are built to patrol the battlefield and then strike by self-destructing. Their use can serve as a decoy to flood and confuse enemy air defenses, pulling attention away from other attacks,” said experts from the Defense Information Consortium.

As for Belarus, it has developed its own jet-powered UAV called the Berkut-VM. This small jet drone was first shown at the MILEX 2021 arms expo in Minsk. It’s painted bright orange for visibility. Originally, the drone was designed to mimic attack aircraft or cruise missiles during training for Belarusian air defense crews. It’s a reusable decoy mainly used as a flying target.

The Berkut-VM has a tailless delta-wing design and can hit speeds of around 400 km/h. It runs on a Chinese Swiwin SW300 turbojet engine and can fly for 30 minutes, covering up to 110 km.