Chinese-made engines are being covertly shipped via front companies to a state-owned drone manufacturer in Russia, labelled as "industrial refrigeration units" to avoid detection in the wake of Western sanctions.
The shipments have allowed Russian weapons-maker IEMZ Kupol to increase its production of the Garpiya-A1 attack drone, despite the US and EU sanctions imposed in October designed to disrupt its supply chain.
An internal Kupol document showed it signed a contract with the Russian defence ministry to produce more than 6,000 Garpiya this year, up from 2,000 in 2024. The document stated that more than 1,500 drones had already been delivered by April.
The long-range drone is being deployed to attack civilian and military targets deep within Ukrainian territory, with around 500 being used by Russia per month.
In the wake of the sanctions, a new Chinese firm called Beijing Xichao International Technology and Trade has started supplying the L550E engines to Kupol.
The Garpiya, which means harpy in Russian, is based on the Iranian-made Shahed drones but relies on Chinese technology. The Ukrainian military intelligence agency said the Chinese-made components in the drone included the engine, control systems, and navigation equipment.
The engines were shipped by Xichao to a Russian front company identified as SMP-138, which then forwarded them to a second Russian firm LIBSS, according to another internal Kupol document.
A contract for LIBSS to supply Kupol with the engines stated they would be described as cooling units in shipping documents because of their sensitivity. The delivery route was from Beijing to Moscow then to Izhevsk, where Kupol has manufacturing facilities.
Transportation documents showed that Sichuan Airlines and China Southern Airlines had transported components for the drones to sanctioned Russian companies since October.
reuters.com/business/aeros
