Chernika-2

Foam, sticks and a claimed machine-vision brain — the Chernika-2 ("Blueberry") is Russia's flying-wing entry in the cheap-mass strike economy: a hand- or catapult-launched drone of model-aircraft materials carrying 3.5 kilograms of explosive out to 100 kilometers, assembled by soldiers at the front from kits whose maker has never been publicly identified. Russian sources credit its latest versions with AI-powered optical navigation that matches terrain imagery under jamming; no Ukrainian teardown has yet confirmed it. More than 11,000 are claimed built — and since June 2025 they have been landing on Kharkiv.

Overview

The Chernika family is what Russia's decentralized drone economy produces one tier above the FPV: foam-plastic flying wings with low radar signature, cruising ~60–75 km/h below 1,500 meters, in two sizes — the FPV-class Chernika-1 (~0.7 kg warhead, up to 80 km) and the Chernika-2 (3.5 kg warhead, up from 2.5 in early builds, 80–100 km range, ~90 minutes strike endurance, ~2 hours in a warheadless reconnaissance fit). The system's identity is deliberately murky: no producer has ever been named — an anonymous developer spoke to TASS in April 2024, RIA Novosti showed soldiers of the 110th Brigade assembling the drones at the front from kits, and ISW associates the fielding with the Russian Airborne Forces (VDV) — the "people's OPK" pattern of Russia's cheap-drone complex, documented across this lexicon's Molniya and V2U entries. Guidance is batch-dependent: autopilot to the target area with radio-manual terminal control in some, and — per Russian sources relayed by ISW — "AI/ML-powered optical navigation" in upgraded 2025 builds, matching camera imagery against preloaded terrain to reach targets under full GPS and communications jamming. The critical caveat this entry carries throughout: no public Ukrainian component teardown confirms the optical-nav module — the claim rests on Russian reporting, partially corroborated by Ukrainian experts' observation that "some versions" identify targets automatically in the final segment. At a Ukrainian-estimated ~$10,000 all-in, launched in packages with Molniyas and Lancets against Kharkiv, Sumy, Kramatorsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, the Chernika-2 is a working piece of ISW's battlefield-air-interdiction thesis: Russia holding Ukraine's near rear under persistent cheap fire.

🔒 The full Chernika-2 file is for BattlePolicy Pro members. Below the line: development history, design and capabilities, variants, the combat record, advantages and limitations, comparable systems, outlook, the full specifications table, our sourcing, and the analyst assessment — procurement, suppliers and the BattlePolicy verdict. Unlock the full file with BattlePolicy Pro →