Gerbera (drone)

Overview

The Gerbera (Russian: Гербера) is a Russian multi-purpose drone, described as a cheaper and simplified version of the Iranian Shahed-136 (also known as the Geran-2 in Russia). It is designed for kamikaze missions, reconnaissance, and signal relaying to extend the operational range of other drones or enhance their resilience against electronic warfare. The Gerbera was first deployed by Russian forces in July 2024 during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It was originally used as a decoy to distract and overwhelm Ukrainian air defense due to its visual similarity to the deadlier Shahed-136. By mid-2025 it was also being used for reconnaissance and strikes. During two separate incidents in July 2025, one confirmed and one suspected Gerbera drone entered Lithuanian NATO airspace, in what some analysts described as hybrid warfare provocations. In September 2025 drones of this type entered Polish airspace.