Russia Secretly Launches Production of Attack Drones in China for War in Ukraine

Russia has set up a program in China to develop and produce attack drones that it plans to use in the war against Ukraine, two European intelligence sources told Reuters. According to documents they provided to the agency, the project is being carried out by a subsidiary of the Almaz-Antey arms concern, the Izhevsk Electromechanical Plant Kupol.

In its reports to the Russian Defense Ministry, the company reported that with the help of Chinese specialists, it had managed to develop and conduct flight tests of a new model of the Harpy-3 attack drone. Its flight range is 2,000 km, and it can carry a payload of up to 50 kg.

Kupol later reported that a factory in China had set up large-scale production of the drones. Two of the drones were delivered to Kupol’s headquarters in Izhevsk this summer. According to Reuters intelligence sources, this is the first time since February 2022 that entire combat drones have been delivered from China to Russia.