Russia develops new long-range strike drones with Chinese parts – Reuters

Russia started producing a new Garpiya-A1 long-range attack drone last year, utilizing components from China.

Reuters reports this with reference to sources in European intelligence services.

Based on the records examined by the publication, the Izhevsk Electromechanical Plant "Kupol," a branch of the Russian state company "Almaz-Antey," manufactured over 2,500 Garpiya drones between July 2023 and July 2024. The existence of this new Russian drone, which incorporates Chinese technology, had not been previously disclosed.

The publication's intelligence sources report that Russia is utilizing the drone to launch attacks on both military and civilian sites in Ukraine. This specific drone is said to bear a strong resemblance to the Shahed model, although it does have a few notable distinctions. One of these is the distinctive ring, secured with bolts, and the use of Limbach L–550 E engines, as stated by a European intelligence agency. While this engine was initially created and produced by a German company, it is now being manufactured in China by Xiamen Limbach.

According to the contract signed in the first quarter of 2023 between the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and Kupol, more than 1 billion rubles (10 million euros) were allocated to produce new drones. The Garpiya prototype was launched in the first half of last year.

According to the contract, the Garpiya drone has a take-off weight of under 300 kilograms and a maximum flight range of 1,500 kilometers, comparable to that of Iran's Shahed–136 drones.

Samuel Bendett, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security in Washington, says that if production of the Garpiya is officially confirmed, it will indicate Russia's move away from relying on Iran for their long-range drone development.

"If that happens, it could mean that Russia can now rely more on domestic development, and obviously on China, as both sides in this war depend on many Chinese components for the production of drones," Bendett said.

In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China stated that Beijing strictly controls the export of potential military goods.

"Regarding the Ukrainian crisis (this is about Russia's war against Ukraine – ed.), China has always been a supporter of promoting peace negotiations and a political settlement," the Foreign Ministry said, adding that there are no international restrictions on trade between China and Russia.

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According to the report, the Institute for the Study of War revealed that Russia and China are still actively engaging in military–technical cooperation. The Chinese government has supported the Russian defense industry in exchange for access to confidential Russian military technology.