News
Latest News
news bulletin
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Other News
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Beirut
29
o
Bekaa
23
o
Keserwan
28
o
Metn
28
o
Mount Lebanon
22
o
North
32
o
South
28
o
Live
Video
Audio
Schedule
shows
العربية
watching now
News
SUBSCRIBE
Home
Notification
Live
Video
Audio
shows
Beirut
29
o
Bekaa
23
o
Keserwan
28
o
Metn
28
o
Mount Lebanon
22
o
North
32
o
South
28
o
News
Programs
The News
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Programs
Documentaries
Lebanon’s Centennial
News Bulletin
The Untold History
Talk Show
Series
Sports
Variety
Other
Comedy
Oldies
Breaking News
Latest News
Highlighted News
Most Read
Videos
العربية
Watch the latest programs and the latest developments on your favorite screen
Shows
Join millions of followers
Who We Are
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Careers
Channel frequencies
Privacy Policy
Terms and Conditions
Russia produces kamikaze drone with Chinese engine: Reuters
World News
2024-09-14 | 04:18
High views
Share
Share
6
min
Russia produces kamikaze drone with Chinese engine: Reuters
Russia started producing a new long-range attack drone called the Garpiya-A1 last year using Chinese engines and parts, which it has deployed in the war in Ukraine, according to two sources from a European intelligence agency and documents seen by Reuters.
The intelligence – which included a production contract for the new drone, company correspondence on the manufacturing process and financial documents - indicated that IEMZ Kupol, a subsidiary of Russian state-owned weapons maker Almaz-Antey, produced more than 2,500 Garpiyas from July 2023 to July 2024.
The existence of the new Russian drone incorporating Chinese technology has not been previously reported. IEMZ Kupol and Almaz-Antey did not respond to requests for comment.
The two intelligence sources said that the Garpiya, which means Harpy in Russian, has been deployed against military and civilian targets in Ukraine, causing damage to critical infrastructure as well as both civilian and military casualties.
They shared with Reuters what they said were images from Ukraine of the wreckage of a Garpiya, without providing further details. Reuters found information that reinforces this conclusion but was unable to confirm the images independently.
The sources asked that neither they nor their agency be identified due to the sensitivity of the information. They also asked that certain details, such as dates, related to the documents be withheld.
Samuel Bendett, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, a Washington DC-based think tank, told Reuters that Garpiya if confirmed, would mark a departure from Russia's reliance on Iranian designs for long-range drones.
"If this is happening, it could indicate that Russia can now rely more on domestic development as well as, obviously, on China, since both sides in this war depend on many Chinese components for drone production," he said.
Iran, which didn't comment for this story, has supplied more than a thousand Shahed "kamikaze" drones to Russia since the start of the invasion in February 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in May last year.
They have been used to exhaust Ukrainian air defenses and hit infrastructure far from the front lines. Iran has repeatedly denied sending drones to Russia for use in Ukraine.
Russia's defense ministry did not respond to a request for comment for this story. The Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement to Reuters that Beijing strictly controls the export of items with potential military applications, including drones.
"With regard to the Ukrainian crisis, China has always been committed to promoting peace talks and political settlement," the statement said. It added that there were no international restrictions on China's trade with Russia.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg last week called on China to stop supporting Russia's war in Ukraine and said Beijing's assistance has been a significant factor in the continuation of the conflict.
The Garpiya "closely resembles the Shahed" but it has several distinguishing features, including a unique bolt-on fin and Limbach L-550 E engines, the European agency said in a statement to Reuters. The engine, which was originally designed and manufactured by a German company, is now produced in China by a local firm, Xiamen Limbach. The company did not respond to a request for comment.
Reuters reviewed a contract worth more than 1 billion rubles (10 million euros) signed in the first quarter of 2023 between the Russian defense ministry and Kupol for the development of a factory to produce the drones.
The intelligence sources said a former cement factory situated in Izhevsk, Udmurt Republic, in western Russia – which was purchased by Kupol in 2020 - is being used to produce the drones.
Using a video of a Russian drone production facility posted on the Telegram messaging app, Reuters was able to identify the site as the factory in Izhevsk from the colour and design of the building's beams and internal architecture which matched file imagery of the site. The location of the file imagery was verifiable from nearby buildings, roads, and trees that matched street views and satellite imagery.
A prototype of the Garpiya was launched in the first half of 2023, company communications showed. Production reached several hundred in the second half of 2023 and more than doubled to around 2,000 in the first half of 2024, the agency said.
Corporate documents dated from the second quarter of 2023, reviewed by Reuters, showed that supplier TSK Vektor procured parts from Chinese companies for assembly at the Kupol site; 800 Chinese engines were also to be delivered to the new plant where the production line was due to ready by end of the quarter.
TSK Vektor did not respond to request for comment.
The European intelligence service said in the statement it was concerned that Chinese companies were continuing to provide components that enabled Russian production of large kamikaze drones. "The export of the essential components to Russia needs to stop," it said.
Reuters
World News
Russia
China
Engines
Gapriya
Shahed
Drone
Ukraine
Next
Russia says recaptured another village in eastern Ukraine
UK's PM in Washington for talks with Biden on Ukraine missile use
Previous
Related Articles
d-none hideMe
0
World News
01:29
Russia says air defenses shot down 29 drones launched by Ukraine
World News
01:29
Russia says air defenses shot down 29 drones launched by Ukraine
0
World News
2024-09-10
Russia: Ukraine's drones target Moscow, more than 30 airline flights suspended
World News
2024-09-10
Russia: Ukraine's drones target Moscow, more than 30 airline flights suspended
0
World News
2024-09-07
Ukraine's air force reports: Russia launched 67 drones in overnight attack
World News
2024-09-07
Ukraine's air force reports: Russia launched 67 drones in overnight attack
0
World News
2024-09-05
Putin: China, India and Brazil could mediate Russia-Ukraine talks
World News
2024-09-05
Putin: China, India and Brazil could mediate Russia-Ukraine talks
Recommended For You
d-none hideMe
0
World News
01:29
Russia says air defenses shot down 29 drones launched by Ukraine
World News
01:29
Russia says air defenses shot down 29 drones launched by Ukraine
0
World News
00:52
Venezuela arrests Spain, US and Czech nationals for alleged 'destabilization'
World News
00:52
Venezuela arrests Spain, US and Czech nationals for alleged 'destabilization'
0
World News
08:45
Algeria president re-elected with 84.3 percent of votes
World News
08:45
Algeria president re-elected with 84.3 percent of votes
0
World News
07:31
At least four die in Romania floods
World News
07:31
At least four die in Romania floods
Subscribe to our VOD
SUBSCRIBE
Our visitors readings
d-none hideMe
0
Israel-Gaza War Updates
2024-09-10
Israel claims 'highly likely' army fire killed US-Turkish activist 'unintentionally'
Israel-Gaza War Updates
2024-09-10
Israel claims 'highly likely' army fire killed US-Turkish activist 'unintentionally'
0
Lebanon News
03:25
Israeli army reports 55 rockets fired from southern Lebanon
Lebanon News
03:25
Israeli army reports 55 rockets fired from southern Lebanon
0
Lebanon News
2024-08-23
Family of five dies in tragic car accident on Cedar-Bcharre road
Lebanon News
2024-08-23
Family of five dies in tragic car accident on Cedar-Bcharre road
0
News Bulletin Reports
2024-08-13
Lebanon's authorities uncover five bodies in Kfarshima house: Here are the details
News Bulletin Reports
2024-08-13
Lebanon's authorities uncover five bodies in Kfarshima house: Here are the details
Videos
d-none hideMe
0
Lebanon News
2024-09-12
Fire erupts at Bourj Hammoud landfill, black smoke covers areas near Beirut (Video)
Lebanon News
2024-09-12
Fire erupts at Bourj Hammoud landfill, black smoke covers areas near Beirut (Video)
0
News Bulletin Reports
2024-08-26
LBCI Exclusive: Canada's Ambassador to Lebanon supports UNIFIL mandate renewal, aims to strengthen LAF capabilities
News Bulletin Reports
2024-08-26
LBCI Exclusive: Canada's Ambassador to Lebanon supports UNIFIL mandate renewal, aims to strengthen LAF capabilities
0
Lebanon News
2024-08-25
Hezbollah reveals footage of strikes in second phase of 'Day of Arbaeen' operation
Lebanon News
2024-08-25
Hezbollah reveals footage of strikes in second phase of 'Day of Arbaeen' operation
0
Lebanon News
2024-08-25
Hezbollah publishes new video revealing Israeli sites targeted in retaliation for assassinating its commander Fouad Shokor
Lebanon News
2024-08-25
Hezbollah publishes new video revealing Israeli sites targeted in retaliation for assassinating its commander Fouad Shokor
0
Lebanon News
2024-08-19
Israeli strike targets car in southern Lebanon, leaving one dead and several injured (video)
Lebanon News
2024-08-19
Israeli strike targets car in southern Lebanon, leaving one dead and several injured (video)
0
News Bulletin Reports
2024-08-13
Lebanon's authorities uncover five bodies in Kfarshima house: Here are the details
News Bulletin Reports
2024-08-13
Lebanon's authorities uncover five bodies in Kfarshima house: Here are the details
0
Lebanon News
2024-08-11
Lebanese Army finds main body of missile from Israeli Strike in Miryata forests
Lebanon News
2024-08-11
Lebanese Army finds main body of missile from Israeli Strike in Miryata forests
0
Lebanon News
2024-07-31
Mohammed Khair: Nine buildings damaged in Israeli attack; demolition planned for severely affected ones
Lebanon News
2024-07-31
Mohammed Khair: Nine buildings damaged in Israeli attack; demolition planned for severely affected ones
0
World News
2024-07-21
Full Transcript: Trump's Coordinator of Arab Relations Discusses Plan to Win Arab Voters and Achieve Peace
World News
2024-07-21
Full Transcript: Trump's Coordinator of Arab Relations Discusses Plan to Win Arab Voters and Achieve Peace
Most read
d-none hideMe
24 hours
7 days
Month
1
Sports News
05:55
Al Riyadi scores its first win in FIBA Intercontinental Cup 2024, defeating Petro De Luanda 80-75!
Sports News
05:55
Al Riyadi scores its first win in FIBA Intercontinental Cup 2024, defeating Petro De Luanda 80-75!
2
Lebanon News
07:07
Man commits family murder-suicide in Koubba, Batroun
Lebanon News
07:07
Man commits family murder-suicide in Koubba, Batroun
3
News Bulletin Reports
13:07
Israel refocuses on northern front: Intensified military drills amid growing threats from Lebanon
News Bulletin Reports
13:07
Israel refocuses on northern front: Intensified military drills amid growing threats from Lebanon
4
News Bulletin Reports
13:12
US repositions naval power: Aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt departs Middle East
News Bulletin Reports
13:12
US repositions naval power: Aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt departs Middle East
5
Lebanon News
03:25
Israeli army reports 55 rockets fired from southern Lebanon
Lebanon News
03:25
Israeli army reports 55 rockets fired from southern Lebanon
6
News Bulletin Reports
12:55
New education policy sparks controversy: Lebanon's approach to illegal Syrian students
News Bulletin Reports
12:55
New education policy sparks controversy: Lebanon's approach to illegal Syrian students
7
Lebanon News
00:19
Israel targets several Lebanon regions; Israeli army claims Bekaa strikes hit Hezbollah weapons depots
Lebanon News
00:19
Israel targets several Lebanon regions; Israeli army claims Bekaa strikes hit Hezbollah weapons depots
8
Lebanon News
07:27
LBCI sources: Ambassadors of Quintet Committee meet at Pine Palace
Lebanon News
07:27
LBCI sources: Ambassadors of Quintet Committee meet at Pine Palace
Download now the LBCI mobile app
To see the latest news, the latest daily programs in Lebanon and the world
Google Play
App Store
We use
cookies
We use
cookies
to make
your experience on this
website better.
Accept
Learn More