Ukraine war: Chinese knock-off parts used in Russia’s Iran-made suicide drones, report says
- The Shahed-136’s engine, for example, appears to be built by a Beijing firm copying a German design, researchers say
- The extent of China’s involvement in Iran’s drone manufacturing is not clear; Western parts have also been found in the weapons
Iranian-made suicide drones that Russian forces have slammed into Ukrainian cities appear to contain Chinese knock-offs of Western parts, researchers have found.
Over the last two months, Russian forces have been relying on Iran’s explosive Shahed-136 drone systems to hit Ukraine’s critical infrastructure in an ongoing terror blitz across the country.
According to a new report from the Institute for Science and International Security, these weapons appear to be built using Chinese parts that are based on Western designs.
Citing an open source review of available information, researchers found in their analysis published on Monday that the Shahed-136 drone uses an engine built by Beijing MicroPilot Flight Control Systems – which is a copy of an engine built by German company Limbach Flugmotoren.
Iran has also designed its own parts that are based on these knock-off Chinese parts.