Engineers from China visited Russia to conduct technical development of drones at an enterprise that is under Western sanctions.
Reuters writes about this, citing the words of two European officials.
According to them, since last year, Chinese experts have visited the Russian defense plant “Kupol” several times. During this time, the company received batches of Chinese strike and reconnaissance drones through a Russian intermediary.
Reuters previously reported that “Kupol” had set up production of Harpy-3 drones in China. Now it has become known that Chinese engineers have also participated in testing military drones on Russian territory.
A group of Chinese experts visited “Kupola” facilities in Izhevsk to assemble drones and train company personnel in their use. They then visited a testing ground in the Chelyabinsk region of the Russian Federation where drones are being tested.
Invoices and delivery notes show that the Chinese company “Sichuan AEE” supplied drones with electronic jamming protection systems. The contracts amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Another Chinese company “Hunan Haotianyi” supplied HW52V drones capable of performing reconnaissance and strike missions. European sources believe that specialists from this company also participated in the work at the “Kupol” enterprise.
- In late July, Reuters reported that Chinese-made engines continue to be secretly supplied to a Russian drone manufacturer, despite US and European Union sanctions imposed last October.
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