Chinese parts, manufactured this year, found in Iranian drones

Researchers analysing Iranian drones shot down in Ukraine have for the first time found a Chinese-made part from this year in one of them.

Source. The Wall Street Journal.

The drone, Shahed-136, was shot down in Ukraine in April and remained largely undamaged. Experts from the British organisation Conflict Armament Research, which tracks arms supply chains, found a Chinese voltage converter within its navigation system. This part was manufactured in mid-January 2023.

Thus, it took only three months for the part from a Chinese factory to make its way to Iran, where it was installed in a drone that was then dispatched to russia. From there, the drone was launched to strike Ukrainian cities.

The findings of Conflict Armament Research demonstrate how quickly Iran is able to supply russia with drones and that it continues to import Chinese parts despite sanctions. This greatly complicates the efforts of the US and their Western allies who are trying to block such supply channels, especially since parts like voltage converters are widely used in commercial electronics.

Western countries have repeatedly imposed sanctions on the Iranian company that manufactures engines for drones, one of which was found in the drone shot down in Ukraine. Chinese companies, according to the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, are increasingly assisting Iran.

According to Ukrainian military sources, russia has launched more than 700 drones at military, energy, and civilian targets. Ukrainian air defence forces have learned to shoot down nearly all of them, but due to the constant threat of missile systems, service members and electronic warfare experts cannot be deployed to cover units currently engaged in a counteroffensive.

As reported, in the special economic zone Alabuga in Tatarstan, russia, Americans have discovered a factory where the production of Iranian drones is being set up.