Japan is exploring unconventional approaches to military technology, as its Defence Minister met with a startup developing cardboard-based drones.
The company, Air Kamuy, has already supplied its low-cost drones to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force for use as aerial targets, indicating early operational adoption.
Built from corrugated cardboard, the drones are designed to be lightweight, inexpensive, and quickly produced in large numbers.
The AirKamuy 150 cardboard drone is capable of 120 km/h speeds and 80-minute flights, assembled from flat-packed sheets in under 5 minutes for swarm deployment, as confirmed by recent NHK reports and defence showcases.
The design leverages recycled cardboard for low-cost mass production in standard factories, reducing expenses to under $100 per unit while maintaining structural integrity via reinforced composites, per developer specs.
It has certain vulnerabilities like water damage but has a strategic value in disposable swarms for reconnaissance, echoing global trends in affordable UAVs seen in Ukraine and Chinese systems.
Their cardboard structure reduces radar reflection compared to metal or carbon fiber, making them harder to detect. This low-observable feature could make them effective for reconnaissance missions, allowing forces to locate targets while remaining less visible to enemy sensors.
Built from corrugated cardboard with a water-resistant coating, the drone is lightweight, inexpensive, and can be shipped flat-packed for rapid assembly in about five minutes.
Priced around $2,500, it is far cheaper than conventional fixed-wing
Sources: Interesting Engineering; YouTube