The Ukrainian military found on its territory the remains of what appears to be a civilian drone of a Chinese company, modernized and armed, which was supposed to be used by Russia, EFE and CNN report.
The drone was shot down at an undisclosed location in a Ukrainian forest, and its remains were shown to CNN by the Ukrainian military, who said they shot it down with an AK-47 automatic weapon.
According to CNN, the drone in question is the Mugin-5, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufactured by a Chinese company based in the port city of Xiamen on the east coast of the Asian country.
During combat duty, fighters of the Luhansk UMS brigade shot down an enemy attack drone “Mugin-5”.
The enemy does not stop conducting aerial reconnaissance, so it is necessary to carefully monitor the sky. pic.twitter.com/g21q25P2Fo— Territorial Defense Forces of Ukraine (@TDF_UA) March 16, 2023
The US TV channel cited some tech bloggers as saying the devices are known as “Alibaba drones” because they are available for sale for around $15,000 on Chinese online marketplaces, including Alibaba and Taobao retail stores.
Mugin Limited confirmed to CNN that it was indeed the fuselage of the device it produced, and described the incident as “very sad.”
“Stupid Bomb”
According to CNN, this is the latest example of a civilian drone being upgraded and weaponized for use in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a sign that Moscow’s war scheme is rapidly changing.
The Ukrainian military told CNN that the drone was flying very low when it was spotted, close enough to be shot down by automatic weapons, and that the drone had been modified to carry a bomb.
According to Chris Lincoln-Jones, a British Army reservist and drone expert, the armed commercial drone did not have a camera installed, meaning it could not be used for surveillance, essentially making the drone a “dumb bomb.” CNN.
“This drone I saw would be a lot more effective if it had a decent camera,” Lincoln-Jones said.
He added that this commercial drone incident is further evidence to support the theory that Russia is not a military superpower. (Agerpress)
Source: Hot News
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