Russia Equips Gerbera-2 Drones with 10 kg Warhead and Incendiary Fuel Tanks

Russian forces have equipped new Gerbera-2 drones with 10 kg high-explosive fragmentation and incendiary warheads, as well as additional tanks containing an incendiary mixture.

The Telegram channel Colonel of the General Staff (Polkovnyk GSh) published photos of the payload.

The images show a separate flexible plastic tank containing the incendiary mixture, positioned behind the main warhead.

This setup is designed to ignite fires at the impact site and is likely intended for attacks on critical infrastructure and warehouses.

Gerbera-2

The Gerbera-2 is an enlarged variant of Russia’s Gerbera multipurpose drone, first spotted over Ukraine in early August 2026.

The enlarged version retains the family’s characteristic configuration: a swept wing, a central vertical stabilizer, and a rear-mounted engine with a pusher propeller. Compared with the original model, it features a significantly larger airframe, a modified wing planform, and an enlarged vertical stabilizer.

One of the main upgrades is a more powerful piston-engine powerplant. The updated drone is equipped with an engine described as half the engine used in the Shahed/Geran-2 strike UAV, with a displacement of approximately 275 cm³.

Preliminary reports indicate that the Izhevsk Motorcycle Plant has begun producing these engines for Russian unmanned aerial vehicles.

This transition was likely made possible by the existing production infrastructure for internal combustion engines used in the Geran-2. Some of this manufacturing capacity may have become available as the proportion of jet-powered Geran-4 drones increased.

For comparison, previous versions used the Chinese DLE60 model aircraft engine manufactured by Mile Hao Xiang Technology, rated at 7 hp and with a displacement of approximately 61 cm³.

The Gerbera-2 also has an enlarged fuel tank with a capacity of up to 63 liters, compared with the original version’s 10-liter tank, which used additional flexible fuel bladders to extend its range.

The Gerbera-2 has been observed carrying warheads weighing 4–10 kg, depending on the intended operational range, whereas strike-configured Gerbera drones typically carried warheads weighing up to 5 kg.

Depending on their configuration, Gerbera-family drones can carry an optical camera, jam-resistant satellite navigation, and a mesh modem to transmit video and operator commands. Because the Gerbera-2 is a relatively new platform, its possible configurations have not yet been fully disclosed publicly. However, reports have indicated that the new drones use the Kometa 12-channel anti-jamming satellite navigation antenna.

In addition to being used in Ukraine, the Gerbera-2 has also been found in Poland, on the Baltic Sea coast near Rusinowo. A high-explosive fragmentation warhead weighing approximately 4 kg, fitted with a fuze, was discovered inside the drone.