Chinese language drone consultants have flown to Russia to conduct technical improvement work on navy drones at a state-owned weapons producer that’s beneath Western sanctions, based on two European safety officers and paperwork seen by Reuters.
The Chinese language consultants have visited arms maker IEMZ Kupol on greater than half a dozen events for the reason that second quarter of final yr. Throughout that point, Kupol additionally acquired shipments of Chinese language-made assault and surveillance drones through a Russian middleman, based on the paperwork and two officers.
In September final yr, Reuters documented that Kupol had developed a brand new drone, the Garpiya-3, in China with the assistance of native specialists. Now the information company is the primary to report particular particulars of the intensive involvement of Chinese language consultants in exams and technological work on military-use drones inside Russia.
The officers, who requested that neither they nor their group be recognized as a result of sensitivity of the data, mentioned the collaboration advised a deepening relationship between Kupol and Chinese language corporations in growing drones — which have confirmed to be critically essential to Russia’s battle in Ukraine.
China’s international ministry mentioned it was unaware of the collaboration.
“China has at all times maintained an goal and truthful place on the query of the Ukraine disaster, by no means offering deadly weapons to any occasion within the battle and strictly controlling dual-use objects, together with drone exports,” the ministry mentioned in a press release.
The Kremlin, the Russian protection ministry, and IEMZ Kupol didn’t reply to requests for remark.
The paperwork, together with enterprise invoices and financial institution statements, confirmed that Kupol acquired greater than a dozen one-way assault drones final yr produced by Sichuan AEE, a Chinese language drone maker.
The drones have been equipped by Russian protection procurement firm TSK Vektor, which is beneath U.S. and EU sanctions, based on the officers and paperwork. TSK Vektor and Sichuan AEE didn’t reply to requests for remark.
The US and European governments have repeatedly expressed concern at Chinese language corporations supplying Russian arms makers, and have imposed sanctions on a few of them.
Reuters reported in July that Kupol was producing 1000’s of Garpiya one-way assault drones utilizing Chinese language components, together with engines. Garpiyas — that are modeled on Iran’s Shahed drone — can fly lots of of miles to pre-programmed targets earlier than diving out of the sky and exploding on affect. Kyiv has mentioned round 500 are getting used every month in Ukraine.
The 2 European officers mentioned the shipments of small numbers of Chinese language assault drones and the presence of Chinese language consultants may point out Kupol’s curiosity in increasing manufacturing to new drone fashions.
Reuters was unable to substantiate independently the rationale behind the drone shipments, nor the precise nature of the work carried out by the Chinese language consultants.
Samuel Bendett, an adjunct senior fellow on the Heart for a New American Safety, a Washington-based suppose tank, mentioned China had change into an important a part of Russia’s navy provide chain.
“There’s simply such an unlimited position and affect and affect of Chinese language parts in Russian navy methods…particularly in aerial drones,” Bendett mentioned.
Deliveries of Chinese language assault Drones
A letter from TSK Vektor to Kupol reviewed by Reuters confirmed that within the second quarter of 2024 the procurement firm billed the weapons producer for greater than half a dozen drones produced by AEE. The European sources requested that specifics of the letter, in addition to the opposite paperwork proven to Reuters, be withheld, together with their dates.
An AEE company doc detailing shipments to TSK Vektor, seen by Reuters, confirmed the supply of the A140 and A900 one-way assault drones. It additionally listed greater than half a dozen different drones — the A60, A100 and A200 — due for supply.
Kupol stories seen by Reuters describe flight exams of the A60, A100 and A200 drones on the Chebarkul navy check website in Russia’s Chelyabinsk area within the final quarter of 2024.
A bunch of Chinese language consultants visited Kupol’s services within the metropolis of Izhevsk to assemble the drones and practice Kupol employees to make use of them, a Kupol doc mentioned. The consultants then visited Chebarkul, it added. Airline bookings seen by Reuters confirmed the Chinese language consultants have been as a result of fly out of Chelyabinsk the day after the exams.
The letter and flight stories described the Chinese language consultants as staff of TSK Vektor, the Russian procurement firm. Nevertheless, the European officers mentioned they assessed that the people have been AEE employees.
They cited AEE’s response to suggestions from the check flights of the A200 drones, reviewed by Reuters, which mentioned it was drawing on info from AEE technicians.
Subsequently, AEE billed TSK Vektor greater than 5 million yuan ($700,000) for a number of A200s fitted with anti-jamming tools in addition to different items within the second quarter of 2025, based on an bill and an account assertion reviewed by Reuters.
Second Chinese language firm equipped drones
In one other Kupol hyperlink to a Chinese language drone producer, a flight check report accredited by the Russian weapons producer and TSK Vektor assessed the efficiency of an HW52V drone — made by Chinese language agency Hunan Haotianyi — within the third quarter final yr.
The HW52V is a vertical take-off and touchdown (VTOL) drone that can be utilized militarily for intelligence, surveillance and reconaissance, and as a strike drone, the European safety officers mentioned.
Air tickets seen by Reuters confirmed that Liu Mingxing, the CEO of Hunan Haotyanyi, and Artem Vysotksy, head of TSK Vektor’s drone division, flew out of the Irkutsk airport in Siberia in adjoining seats in June following the final day of an occasion the place the corporate’s drones have been displayed.
Hunan Haotyanyi and TSK Vektor didn’t reply to requests for remark. Reuters was unable to achieve the executives.
A separate Kupol doc from the third quarter final yr described a go to to its services by Chinese language residents, together with engineers and technical employees, described as TSK Vektor staff.
The European safety officers mentioned they assessed that the Chinese language residents have been employees of Hunan Haotianyi as a result of a number of of the consultants who visited Kupol on that event — and on different journeys in 2024 and 2025 — had accompanied the Hunan Haotianyi CEO throughout his go to to Russia. Reuters couldn’t verify they have been Hunan Haotianyi employees.
The aim of the consultants’ third-quarter go to, the doc mentioned, was to adapt a brand new Chinese language flight management pc and a brand new engine for the Garpiya.
A number of different letters between Vektor and Kupol described over half a dozen week-long visits by Chinese language and Russian consultants in 2024 and 2025. The teams, the letters mentioned, could be conducting work on a flight management pc.
A ultimate letter, which described a go to by Chinese language consultants from the identical group within the third quarter of 2025, mentioned they might additionally conduct work on a brand new drone, known as the GA-21. The European officers assess the GA-21 is a model of Iran’s Shahed-107, which can be utilized for surveillance or as an assault drone.
