Russia is producing attack drones with help from China, Reuters says
Russia began production of a new long-range attack drone, the Garpiya-A1, in 2023 (garpia“harpies” in Russian), which includes Chinese technology and has already been used in the conflict against Ukraine, according to two European intelligence sources and documents seen by Reuters.
IEMZ Kupol, a subsidiary of Russian arms giant Almaz-Antey, produced more than 2,500 Garpiyas between July 2023 and July 2024, according to documents seen by Reuters, including a production contract, company letters and financial documents. Contacted by Reuters, IEMZ Koupol and Almaz-Antey did not respond to a request for comment.
This drone was deployed against civilian and military targets in Ukraine. It caused material damage, but also casualties among the population and the Ukrainian armed forces, according to two sources who asked to remain anonymous. They also asked that certain details of the documents not be revealed, in particular the dates.
The sources showed Reuters images of a destroyed Garpiya, without further details. Reuters could not independently authenticate these shots, which were said to have come from Ukraine.
If this is the situation, “This could indicate that Russia is now more dependent on domestic production and obviously on China, given that both sides of the conflict rely on Chinese components for drone production.”says Samuel Bendett of the Washington-based think tank Center for a New American Security.
Until now, Russia has relied mainly on Iranian technology. Iran has supplied more than a thousand Shahed-136 suicide drones to Russia since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in May 2023. Authorities in Tehran, who deny sending drones to Russia, declined to comment on the information regarding the Garpiya-A1.
The Russian Defence Ministry declined to comment. China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement to Reuters that Beijing strictly controls the transfer of technology for military use, including drones. “In the face of the Ukrainian crisis, China has always promoted peace talks and a political solution”He added that trade with Russia is not subject to any restrictions.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg last week called on China to end its military assistance to Russia, stressing that it weighed heavily on the continuation of the conflict.
The Garpiya-A1 is “very close to Shahed”but is equipped with a Limbach L550 E engine, according to the European Intelligence Agency, which provided information to Reuters. This engine, designed and manufactured in Germany, is now made by Xiamen Limbach in China. The company declined to comment.
Reuters has seen a contract worth more than 1 billion rubles (10 million euros) signed in the first quarter of 2023 between the Russian Ministry of Defense and IEMZ Kupol for the development of a drone production center.
Garpiya-A1 drones are produced at a former cement factory in Izhevsk, Udmurtia, in western Russia. The factory was acquired by IEMZ Koupol in 2020. Video footage reviewed by Reuters from Telegram messages attests to the existence and operation of this production facility.
According to company documents, a prototype of the Garpiya was tested in the first half of 2023. Production reached several hundred units in the second half of 2023 and was around 2,000 units in the first half of 2024, according to the European Intelligence Agency, cited above.
The Garpiya, which weighs just under 300 kilograms, has a maximum range of 1,500 kilometres, the contract specifies, bringing it close to the capabilities of the Shahed-136.
HE Washington Post reported in August that Russia plans to increase production of a domestic version of the Shahed-136, the Geran-2, in Elabouga, Tatarstan.
Documents from the second quarter of 2023 show that Russian supplier TSK Vektor transferred spare parts imported from China to IEMZ Kupol. When asked, TSK Vektor did not respond.
A third document obtained by Reuters, an order between TSK Vektor and Koupol, dated to the first quarter of 2024, details the delivery of 100 Limbach L550 E engine shafts, carburettors and other parts sold by two Chinese companies: Juhang Aviation Technology and Redlepus Vector Industries, both based in Shenzhen.
Juhang, which has been under British sanctions since February and U.S. sanctions since May, and Redlepus did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. According to customs data, from April 2022 to December 2023, TSK Vector imported $36.3 million worth of parts from Juhang Aviation Technology and $6.2 million worth of components from Redlepus TSK Vector Industrial Shenzhen Co Ltd. These are aircraft engine parts, electronic modules, connectors, semiconductors, plugs and other components mainly identified for “civil use” AND “industrial use”.
