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In northern Mali, rebels shot down a Russian Shahed-136 attack drone on May 18, which was used by mercenaries linked to Russia. The drone contained electronics from Chinese companies and foreign-made components.
Key points:
- In Mali, rebels shot down a Shahed-136 attack drone used by mercenaries linked to Russia.
- The drone contained electronics from Chinese companies and foreign-made components, according to the President’s representative.
Russian Shahed with Chinese components shot down for the first time in Mali
This was reported by Vladislav Vlasiuk, the President’s representative for sanctions policy.
On May 18, in northern Mali, rebels downed a Russian Shahed-136 («Harpyia-A1») attack drone, which was used to support Russia-linked mercenaries in the region. This is the first confirmed instance of such an UAV being employed in the Sahel.
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Vlasiuk clarified that it was a new modification of the “KK” series with an aerial detonation of the warhead.
Russia is increasingly actively transferring its military technologies and instruments of war to other regions, particularly Africa. This is largely due to dual-use components that continue to enter Russian production unimpeded.
He also noted that the drone shot down in Mali contained components (microchips, transistors, diodes, and relays) from Chinese companies Mornsun, Wayon Electronics, GigaDevice, Shenzhen Codaca Electronic, and NCR Industrial. Parts from STMicroelectronics were also used.
According to him, this is standard civilian electronics that can be found on the open market.
At the same time, this same typical electronic configuration is found in drones that Russia uses against Ukraine.
The situation in Mali demonstrates how quickly dual-use technologies are being transformed into tools for exporting war. As long as the supply of such components to Russia is not strictly controlled, Russia’s UAV production will continue to scale up along with the geography of their deployment.
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