China's UAV export ban is a political statement — aviation expert

China’s Ministry of Commerce has announced a ban on the export of all civilian unmanned aerial vehicles that could be used for military purposes or terrorist activities, as reported by the Associated Press.

Anatoliy Khrapchynsky, Deputy Director General of a company producing electronic warfare equipment and an aviation expert, discussed this topic on Hromadske Radio.

«The ban on drones may affect global processes, but it will not impact Ukraine. During the full-scale invasion, we developed our own production capabilities, including the component base. We now see more Western components than Chinese ones in our unmanned aerial vehicles. The percentage of purchases from China is now very small compared to 2022.

In my opinion, China’s ban on UAV exports is a political statement. The main task here is to find good, high-quality countermeasures and develop our own production.»

The expert also emphasized that most of the drones currently involved in the fighting are made in Ukraine:

«What is available on the market is not suitable for the conditions in which we are fighting Russia. The presence of electronic warfare and other means of countering aircraft complicates the task. If in 2023 we could recycle commercial drones and use them, now most UAVs are high-tech products with a complex component base.»