China Provides Expertise to Russia’s Sanctioned Drone Facility
Chinese drone experts have repeatedly visited the sanctioned Russian arms manufacturer IEMZ Kupol to assist in the development and testing of military drones used in the war against Ukraine.
The Gaze reports on it, referring to Reuters.
According to the documents, the cooperation included testing and technical work, as well as the supply of Chinese strike and surveillance drones through Russian intermediaries.
Notably, Kupol created the Harpy-3 drone in collaboration with Chinese specialists and also produces thousands of Harpy strike drones based on the Iranian Shahed, using Chinese components. According to Kyiv, about 500 such drones are used against Ukraine every month.
Despite China's official statements that it does not supply lethal weapons, documents show that Kupol purchased Chinese drones through TSK Vektor, a company subject to US and EU sanctions.
Experts believe that China has become an important part of Russia's military supply chain.
"There is just such an enormous role and influence and impact of Chinese components in Russian military systems...especially in aerial drones," said Samuel Bendett, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.
Documents show that in the second quarter of 2024, Chinese manufacturer AEE supplied Kupola with more than half a dozen single-use strike drones through intermediary TSK Vektor.
Groups of Chinese experts also visited Kupol's factories in Izhevsk to assemble drones and train personnel, and then accompanied the tests at the training ground.
In addition, Kupol collaborated with a second Chinese company, Hunan Haotianyi. Airline tickets show that Hunan Haotianyi CEO Liu Minsheng and TSK Vektor drone chief Artem Vysotsky flew together from Irkutsk in June after the drone demonstration.
The records also reveal numerous week-long visits by experts in 2024–2025 to collaborate on flight control systems and new engines for the Harpy, and in the third quarter of 2025 on the GA-21 project.
Read more on The Gaze: Why does China increase the supply of dual-use goods to Russia?