Russia Drones Equipped With Chinese Technology Raise Eyebrows

A model of drone intended for the war effort of Russia includes components of a Chinese company, which had previously declared that it would not provide equipment in the war in Ukraine, it was reported.

The Defense Defense Defense Agency for Ukraine (DIU) said that it had revealed a new drone that Moscow would use, which is similar to the Shahed-136 drone of Iranian manufacturing, although much smaller.

He said almost half of the components come from a single Chinese company, Cuav Technology, which announced in October 2022 restrictions on its products in Ukraine and Russia, reducing their military use.

Nowsweek Contacted CUAV technology for comments.

Why it matters

Russia intensifies its production of drones as it continues to bomb the Ukrainian infrastructure and use the devices on the battlefield.

A propaganda video presented a drone factory near Kazan in the Tatarstan region, described as the largest in the world, in the midst of a warning from the German Defense Ministry that Russia could launch 2000 of devices in one night by November.

China has always denied having provided drones or weapons components to Russia, but the reports that its companies contribute to this effort raise questions about the effectiveness of secondary sanctions.

What to know

The DIU has unveiled on a gate of war and sanctions, which details the components of foreign weapons, the internal functioning of a new Russian drone which, according to Moscow, uses as a recognition and lure device to detect the positions of Ukrainian air defense.

He said that the device named UAV (unmanned air vehicle) CBTS.611000 has a similar delta wings fuselage but smaller than the Shahed-136 (Geran-2), the drone designed by Iran, which caused destruction in Ukraine.

The DIU said that each component is of Chinese origin, almost half of which come from a single company, Cuav Technology. These components include a flight controller with automatic driver, navigation modules and antennas and a speed sensor. The drone can carry an warhead up to 15 kilograms (35 pounds), added the IUD.

DIU said in October 2022 that CUAV technology announced restrictions on the supply of its products to Ukraine and Russia.

German major-general Christian Freuding said in a podcast that China has now completely ceased to export drone parts to Ukraine and rather provides Russia.

Meanwhile, in June, Oleh Alexandrov, spokesperson for the foreign intelligence service in Ukraine, said Politico That Chinese manufacturers would continue to provide Russia for their production of drones.

This would include the supply of equipment, electronics, navigation, optics and telemetry systems, motors, microcircuits, processor modules, antenna field systems, control cards and navigation systems, he said.

What people say

The pro-Ukrainian user X Jürgen Nautt posted that the Diu report “China supports Russian terrorism – Thus, China directly supports the fight against Europe.”

Pro-Ukrainian Bsky B User Jalenska published: “I hope we condemn China with strong words and invoke ambassadors.”

UA soldiers on X: “Ukrainian intelligence has revealed that a new Russian drone, used for lure, recognition and light strikes, is based almost entirely on Chinese components.”

Oleh Alexandrov, spokesperson for the Ukraine foreign intelligence service, told Politico in June: “Officially, China sticks to all the rules. Yet only officially.”

What happens next

Reports on Chinese participation in Russian drones will add to a meticulous examination of other countries playing a role in helping the war effort in Moscow. Kyrylo Budanov, DIU chief, said that the Russian ally in North Korea is currently providing up to 40% of Moscow ammunition.