Russia received combat drones from China and is preparing to build them there - Reuters • The Bell • RIMA

Russia received combat drones from China and is preparing to build them there - Reuters

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Reuters has discovered the first evidence of military drone shipments from China to Russia and technical cooperation that can only be organized with the knowledge of the authorities. According to European intelligence information, the Izhevsk Electromechanical Plant Kupol (IEMZ, a subsidiary of Almaz-Antey) is organizing the assembly of kamikaze drones in China. Some of the information was obtained from reports from the IEMZ of the Ministry of Defense, obtained by Reuters.

The documents indicate the name of the drone - “Harpy-3”. Until now, only the Harpy-A1 kamikaze drones produced by IEMZ, clearly inspired by the Iranian Shaheds, but smaller in size and with a jet rather than a piston engine made in China, have been known to be used on the frontline on a massive scale.
Judging by the description, “Harpy-3” is an improved version of “Harpy-A1” with a range of 2000 kilometers and a 50 kg warhead. The first two such devices for testing and development were received in Izhevsk, it follows from the documents.
The plans are even more extensive - production in China for Russia of a medium-altitude reconnaissance and attack drone REM-1 with a payload of 400 kg. Such a device falls into the MALE class (Turkish Bayraktar, American Reaper) and is a highly effective means of destroying military equipment with weak air defense. Now the Russian Armed Forces have at their disposal only a few dozen Orions that can be classified in this class - patriotic channels have recently written that they are successfully used in the Kursk region.
From Reuters documents it follows that IEMZ wants to build 800 such drones per year in China, for which a separate production and research site is being created in the Kashgar SEZ (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Republic).

Why is this important?

Until now, there has been no evidence of direct deliveries of finished “heavy” class drones from China to Russia. Moreover, China insisted that, unlike Kyiv’s Western allies, it does not adhere to double standards and “does not fan the flames of war in Ukraine” by supplying weapons to the warring party. Disclosure of such information risks sanctions and could well derail the project—which may not yet have received approval from the Russian Ministry of Defense.