China to build kamikaze drones for Russia
Moscow and Beijing are reportedly collaborating on a clone of the Iranian suicide drone Shahed: This weapons cooperation would be Xi Jinping's first step towards open support for Putin's Ukrainian war. Without China's help, it would have been lost a long time ago.
According to Bloomberg Financial Agency, Russian and Chinese companies are secretly planning a provocative military alliance: the development of a drone model similar to the Iranian Shahed-model, which Moscow receives from Tehran and uses extensively in Ukraine. European government officials see this as a dangerous step by Beijing towards open support for Moscow in its attack war against Kiev, which China has officially avoided so far.
The unnamed companies reportedly held talks as early as 2023 to copy Iran's Shahed drone. This year, they are said to have begun developing and testing a version for export to Russia. However, according to European officials, these drones have not yet been used in Ukraine.
The deployment would mean a significant escalation in the Ukrainian war. China officially presents itself as neutral in this conflict and, according to US assessments, has not yet supplied Moscow with lethal weapons or ammunition - although China's People's Republic is reportedly supporting Putin's war machine with satellite data, components, and civilian goods in every conceivable way. Weapon deliveries would likely trigger much sharper sanctions from the West. According to the report, the US government assumes that China is currently considering sending completely assembled Kamikaze drones to Russia but is only supplying assembly kits in the meantime.
Shahed is the workhorse in the drone war
In some way or another, this has enormous military significance for Russia. The Iranian Shahed is the backbone of Putin's terrorist campaign from the air. The name of the one-way drone is programmatic: Shahed (Arabic for Martyr) are suicide drones for kamikaze attacks. Driven by a better moped engine, they can be quickly and cheaply produced, for a few tens of thousands of Euros. They are mass-produced not only to target small civilian infrastructure targets but also to be shot down.
Due to their small motor, they have only a small heat signature, and they leave hardly any echo on radar. According to Ukrainian reports, the Russian army has bought 2400 of the buzzing mini-bombs. With Shahed swarms, it regularly overwhelms the Ukrainian air defense and clears the way for more expensive long-range weapons such as cruise missiles or precision rockets, which follow in their wake.
To secure the supply, Russia has already built a huge factory for Shaheds, which are called Geran-2 in Russian nomenclature, in Alabuga with Iranian help. It was attacked by long-range drones from Ukraine in April. Now it seems that a second supply chain is soon to reach China. For even if the government officials of Bloomberg did not say which drone China is currently allegedly developing with Russia, it is quite clear which one it is likely to be.
China openly works on a Shahed clone named Sunflower 200. It was already presented at the military exhibition Army 2023 in Moscow in August last year. Already back then, the suspicion arose that the drone could soon be deployed to Russia for use in Ukraine. The Sunflower not only has the typical triangular shape and rear propeller like the Shahed, but also a wingspan of approximately 2.5 meters and a combat head of 40 to 60 kilograms.
Concerning the Sunflower, not only China's greater manufacturing capabilities compared to the Shahed production are alarming for officials, but above all the quantities: According to Bloomberg, there is a concern that China can produce these cheap attack drones in much larger quantities than Russia on-site in Alabuga. If the production in China goes into series production, Moscow would probably have an almost unlimited reservoir of drones at its disposal in the Ukrainian conflict.
The possible drone alliance once again illustrates how essential China's support for Putin's war against Ukraine is. Officially, Beijing takes no position in this matter. However, due to Western sanctions against Russia, China, along with North Korea, has long been one of Russia's closest partners. This is evident not only in the close personal relationship that has developed between the "old friends" Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, as was evident in May at the meeting of the two presidents in Beijing.
According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, China has not yet supplied lethal weapons to Russia. However, China has been supporting Russia with the delivery of Dual-Use goods that can be used both civilly and militarily since a long time: "They will be used to help Russia produce more ammunition, tanks, troop transporters, and rockets," Blinken told the BBC.
Approximately 70 percent of Russia's machinery and 90 percent of its microelectronics come from China, according to Blinken - all Western sanctions notwithstanding. Without the constant supply of Western microchips and other military electronic components, Russia's missile supply and rocket production would probably have run dry long ago. The US government only imposed sanctions on Chinese companies for this in May. However, the stream of microchips is unlikely to be stopped. The same goes for the construction of Chinese suicide drones for Russia.
- Russia's defense industry could significantly benefit from the collaboration with China's drone production, potentially enhancing the capabilities of their Shahed-like drones.
- Vladimir Putin might find a new ally in drone technology, as Russia and China are reportedly working on a Sunflower 200 drone, a clone of the Iranian Shahed, which could aid Russia in its operations in Ukraine.
- The development of this Sunflower 200 drone, if deployed in Ukraine, could potentially tilt the balance in favor of Russia, given China's capacity to produce drones in larger quantities compared to Russia.
