Russia produces new "long-range" attack drones with Chinese spare parts – Reuters

Russia has started production of a new long-range attack drone called the Garpiya-A1 in 2023, which contains Chinese engines and spare parts.

Source: Reuters, citing two European intelligence sources and documents available to the editorial team

Details: Based on the intelligence, Reuters reports that a subsidiary of Russia's state-owned Almaz-Antey arms manufacturer, Izhevsk Electromechanical Plant Kupol (IEMZ Kupol), produced more than 2,500 Garpiyas between July 2023 and July 2024.

The existence of a new Russian drone using Chinese technologies has not been previously reported. IEMZ Kupol and Almaz-Antey did not respond to requests for comment.

Quote: "The two intelligence sources said that the Garpiya, which means Harpy in Russian, has been deployed against military and civilian targets in Ukraine, causing damage to critical infrastructure as well as both civilian and military casualties.

They shared with Reuters what they said were images from Ukraine of the wreckage of a Garpiya, without providing further details. Reuters found information that reinforces this conclusion, but was unable to confirm the images independently."

Details: Reuters quoted Samuel Bendett, an adjunct senior fellow at the Centre for a New American Security, as saying that the appearance of such drones would mean that Russia is moving away from dependence on Iranian long-range drone development.

The Russian Defence Ministry did not respond to a request for comment for this issue. China's Foreign Ministry told Reuters that Beijing strictly controls the export of goods with potential military applications, including drones.

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