Bloomberg: China developing attack drones for Russia, US allies say

Chinese and Russian companies are developing an attack drone similar to an Iranian model deployed in Ukraine, European officials familiar with the matter said, reports Bloomberg.

The companies held talks in 2023 about collaborating to replicate Iran’s Shahed drone, and started developing and testing a version this year in preparation for shipment to Russia, said the officials, who asked not to be identified to discuss private information. The Chinese drones have yet to be used in Ukraine, they said.

The officials didn’t identify the drone under development, but Chinese defense websites and several media outlets have reported the country is developing a kamikaze attack drone called the Sunflower 200, which is described as similar in appearance to the Iranian Shahed 136 drone.

Some nations believe that providing Russia with drones for attack purposes would cross the line into lethal aid, two of the officials said. One person familiar with the matter said the US assessment is China is weighing whether to send fully built unmanned aerial vehicles, but in the meantime is sending kits that can be converted into attack drones.

Bloomberg News reported in April that China was providing Russia with satellite imagery for military purposes, microelectronics and machine tools for tanks, as well as a swath of technologies used in weapons or needed to produce them.