Moscow Still Uses Beijing's Drones

"More than a year after Western authorities sought to shut down the pipeline supplying Russia, exports of small, nimble Chinese drones are still providing the Kremlin with an effective way to target Ukrainian forces, according to Western officials, security analysts and customs data.

Some of the commercial drones are arriving on the front lines from Russian distributors supplied by Shenzhen, China-based Da-Jiang Innovations Science & Technology Co., known as DJI, according to customs records, while others are transported through the United Arab Emirates.

Russia's continued deployment of Chinese drones on the Ukrainian battlefield shows how its military has been able to draw critical items from abroad, despite a wide-ranging Western pressure campaign intended to restrain Moscow.

The Pentagon worries that these drones are allowing China to gather crucial battlefield intelligence that might enhance Beijing's war readiness.

"As DJI and China watch the use of drones in a combat environment, they're just soaking up data," a senior U.S. security official said. "They're able to see the TTPs, the tactics, techniques and procedures," the person said, including how the drones respond to electronic-warfare attacks.

"Because China has the civil-military fusion, they're able to then put that in the hands of the PLA and learn," the official said, referring to the People's Liberation Army.

Chinese quadcopters, small unmanned helicopters with four rotors, have been a concern for the Pentagon. The drones, which are used for civilian and military purposes, are often bought by third parties and then shipped from China.

The Wall Street Journal viewed Russian customs records provided by ImportGenius, a trade database firm, and C4ADS, a Washington-based nonprofit that specializes in identifying national-security threats.

DJI said it opposes the use of civilian drones on the battlefield, pointing to its suspension of business in Russia and Ukraine last April.

"However, as consumer electronics, DJI products can be purchased in e-commerce stores and stores in many countries," the firm said. "We cannot prevent users or organizations from purchasing in countries or regions other than Russia and Ukraine, and then transship or gift them to Russia and Ukraine."

China's Embassy in Washington, responding to a request for comment for this article, referred to its Foreign Ministry's position, which has called for de-escalation and negotiations. Russia's ministries of defense and foreign affairs didn't respond to a request for comment.

In addition to the export data, dozens of videos and pictures viewed by the Journal show Russian fighters using DJI drones in Ukraine.

In a video posted in June, a group of gun-toting, khaki-clad, pro-Russian volunteers in southern Ukraine said they were about to receive "heroic shuttles" -- a term for DJI drones -- from the United Arab Emirates paid through the sanctioned state bank Sberbank. The bank didn't respond to a request for comment.

In a social-media posting, Konstantin Kuznetsov, a gun dealer in Orenburg, Russia, who supplies the Russian military, said DJI drones are normally being bought in the Persian Gulf nation for 500,000 rubles, the equivalent of about $6,800 -- much higher than market prices.” [1]

 

Drones make tanks, ships and groups of infantry easy targets. Therefore, the military operation becomes positional - hiding in the trenches. In such operations, those who have more people and other resources usually win, in this case - the Russians.

 

1.  World News: Moscow Still Uses Beijing's Drones
Faucon, Benoit.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 21 Feb 2023: A.7.