2024-07-04 11:15:59
Officials did not identify the drone under development, but Chinese defense websites and several media reported that China is developing the Sunflower 200 kamikaze attack drone, which is outwardly similar to Iran’s Shahed 136 drone.
“Bloomberg” reported that in 2023 the companies held negotiations on cooperation to copy the Iranian drone “Shahed” and build a copy in China, but this year they have already started testing the version of the drone before sending it to Russia.
Officials who were briefed on the matter asked not to be named in order not to disclose private information. According to them, Chinese drones have not yet been used in Ukraine.
Some European countries believe that supplying drones to Russia to carry out attacks will cross the line of lethal assistance. Western countries have repeatedly warned China not to cross this line.
China is still considering whether to send whole drones to Russia or their parts, from which they could be built in Russia.
“The West is concerned that China could build a Shahed-like drone much faster than Iran or Russia,” Bloomberg said.
2024-07-04 11:15:59