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Russia has built a larger version of its Gerbera drone, Ukrainian media reported Aug. 13, dubbing the new model “Gerbera-2.”
The redesigned drone dwarfs earlier Gerbera models, with a reported payload of 20 to 30 kilograms — several times the roughly 5-kilogram warhead the original carried. It reportedly also comes with a 63-liter fuel tank, upgraded electronics and a stronger engine.
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Since appearing over Ukraine in 2024, the Gerbera has functioned mainly as a cheap decoy and reconnaissance drone, built from plywood and foam to mimic the radar profile of Russia’s larger Geran-2 one-way attack drone, itself reported to be based on Iran’s Shahed-136. Its light warhead has confined it to soft targets such as fuel depots, radar sites and unarmored vehicles.
The bulked-up Gerbera-2 may be designed to assume the strike role now held by the Geran-2, as Russia shifts that production line toward the newer, jet-powered Geran-4.
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Over the past year, Russia has broadened the Gerbera’s use, fielding versions for electronic intelligence collection, as decoys folded into mass drone raids, and, more recently, armed with small warheads for direct hits. Some have also turned up carrying extra fuel tanks to stretch their range.
Production of the original Gerbera has scaled up sharply this year, TASS reported in August, citing Russian military expert Alexei Potapov.
According to Potapov, roughly 15,000 to 20,000 Gerberas had been built by mid-2025, but that output has since risen “exponentially,” with serial numbers indicating total production has now passed 100,000 units. He put the drone’s cost at around $10,000, a fraction of the price of the larger Geran-2.
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