Russian Shahed drone with Chinese components shot down in Mali

Rebels in northern Mali shot down a Russian-made Shahed-136 attack drone (Garpiya-A1) on May 18 that had been used by mercenaries linked to Russia. The drone contained electronics produced by Chinese companies as well as other foreign-made components.

This was reported by Vladyslav Vlasiuk, the Ukrainian President’s Commissioner for Sanctions Policy, in a comment to Ukrinform.

“On May 18, rebels in northern Mali shot down a Russian Shahed-136 (Garpiya-A1) attack drone that had been used to support Russian-linked mercenaries in the region. This is the first confirmed case of such a UAV being used in the Sahel,” he said.

Vlasiuk specified that the drone was a new KK series modification equipped with an airburst warhead system.

“Russia is increasingly transferring its military technologies and tools of war to other regions, particularly Africa. And it is doing so largely thanks to dual-use components that continue to reach Russian production facilities without obstruction,” the commissioner stated.

He also noted that the drone shot down in Mali contained components, including microchips, transistors, diodes, and relays, manufactured by Chinese companies Mornsun, Wayon Electronics, GigaDevice, Shenzhen Codaca Electronic, and NCR Industrial. Components made by STMicroelectronics were also used.

According to him, these are ordinary civilian electronic components that can be freely purchased on the open market.

At the same time, the same standard electronics configuration is also found in drones

“The Mali case demonstrates how quickly dual-use technologies become instruments for exporting war. As long as supplies of such components to Russia are not strictly controlled, Russian UAV production will continue to expand, along with the geography of their use,” Vlasiuk added.

Read also: EU wants to temporarily lift sanctions against Chinese company that assists Russia – Bloomberg

As reported by Ukrinform, the sharp increase in exports of certain goods from the EU to countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus points to systematic re-export of products to Russia. In this context, Ukraine is urging the European Union to apply anti-sanctions circumvention mechanisms more actively.