Russia produces kamikaze drone with Chinese engine

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.

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Bendett, the defence analyst, said 2,500 drones per year would represent a sizeable chunk of Russia's output. Ukraine's top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said last month that Russia has fired nearly 14,000 strike drones since it invaded in February 2022, including the Iranian Shahed as well as the Russian-made Geran-2 and Lancet drones.

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