China supplies 67% of critical components for making UAVs to Russia

The main supplier of critical components for Russian UAVs production is China, which accounts for 67%, with Turkey and the United Arab Emirates accounting for another 7%. This conclusion was reached by an International Task Force working on sanctions against Russia, according to the website of the President of Ukraine.

• The Russian Army regularly uses three main models of drones: Shahed-136/131, Lancet, and Orlan-10. At the same time, Russia still relies heavily on foreign-made components, including microelectronics, in the production of UAVs.
• According to a study by the International Task Force, China is the main supplier of critical components for Russian drones, accounting for 67% of shipments, with 17% of them going through Hong Kong.
• Turkey and the United Arab Emirates account for 5% and 2% of the components, respectively. Components made in Japan, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, and other countries, including processors, chips, transistors, and other key components, were also found in the drones.
• At the same time, according to the International Task Force’s report, many details can be obtained through publicly available platforms, which complicates regulatory oversight.
• In regards to this, the experts called on manufacturers to do more to prevent Russia from accessing their products to circumvent economic sanctions.
• In particular, it is proposed to coordinate sanction lists among partner countries, to standardize lists of dual-use goods based on the Harmonized Systems, and to expand the categories of goods subject to sanctions based on the Harmonized Systems.