Ukraine, partners to investigate use of Chinese antennas in Russian drones

Ukraine has informed its international partners that Russia is employing Chinese-made antennas in its Shahed-136 strike drones, with the aim of tracing the logistics supply chain and imposing sanctions to restrict the Kremlin's access to such technologies.

Yaroslav Chornohor, director of the Russian and Belarusian Studies Program at the Ukrainian Prism Foreign Policy Council, said this in comments to Ukrinform.

"Informing partners [about Russia's use of Chinese antennas in Shahed-136 drones] is a crucial step," Chornohor said. "It is essential to identify the logistics chain through which these antennas reach Russia. The labeling, indicating use for agricultural equipment, suggests this is a dual-purpose or non-military product that Russia has adapted for its needs. Western countries have the opportunity to exert influence to either completely ban or at least partially limit the flow of such goods to Russia."

Chornohor noted that Ukraine's limited access to Russian internal information makes it difficult to determine why these Chinese antennas are being used instead of Iranian or Russian ones. However, he suggested that sanctions might have made some components unavailable.

"But we saw that the Chinese antenna appears to enhance the ability of Russian drones to overcome Ukraine's electronic warfare measures. This is expected, as new technical measures require adaptation. I believe our air defenses and electronic warfare units will adjust to the parameters of the new antenna to effectively counter these drones. However, for now, the Russians hold a temporary advantage," he said.

He also stressed that it is too early to gauge the extent of Russia's transition to Chinese antennas.

"As drones are downed in future attacks, our experts will analyze whether these antennas are part of a single batch or a more widespread shift," he said.

Vladyslav Vlasiuk, an advisor to the President of Ukraine, said earlier that wreckage from a January 1 Russian drone attack on Kyiv revealed new technological components in Shahed-136 drones. For the first time, a Chinese-made CRPA circular satellite navigation antenna, typically intended for agricultural equipment, was identified, along with remains of video cards, suggesting potential video guidance capabilities.

Ukraine has informed its partners of these findings and is preparing additional sanctions measures to address the issue.

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