Chinese firm knocked off Iran drone, sold it on Alibaba site: Report
side-by-side comparison of Iranian drone Shahed and knock-off listed on Alibaba
Chinese duplicate products are nothing new, but this one takes the cake. A Chinese company reportedly knocked off an Iranian military drone, no less, and listed it for sale on Alibaba online marketplace, according to a report on the Vice news website.
The drone is similar to the one from the Shahed series and was listed without the payload, before being yanked off the site, the report said.
According to X user Byron Wan, a company called Sunlipo Energy Shenzen Co Limited "is selling a fixed-wing drone, XHZ-50, which looks like Iran’s Shahed 136 loitering munition (suicide drone), on Alibaba for US$57,000".
Wan also shared the specifications of the Iranian drone which looks a lot similar to the Chinese one.
Watch:Iran attacks Pakistan with missiles and drones, Pak summons Tehran's envoy
The Iranian drone Shahed 136, according to an AFP news agency graphic, is a long-range suicide drone for hitting fixed targets. Developed by Iran's HESA in 2021, it has the capability to carry 36kg of explosives as warhead. Shahed 136 has a range of 2,500 kilometres and a maximum speed of 135 km per hour. The drone weighs 200 kg and has a length of 3.5 metres and a wingspan of 2.5 metres.
Also read:Explained | Why did Iran attack Pakistan? What is Jaish al-Adl group targeted by Tehran?
The one that was listed on Alibaba, meanwhile, showed similar specifications.
The company called it XHZ-50 Fixed Wing UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle).
It was selling for $57,000, and the minimum order was one set.
Ithada weight of 150 pounds and usedgasoline as fuel.
It's a remote-controlled drone that can be navigated from a six-mile distance.
Iran had sold Shahed 136, a so-called loitering munition to Russia. During the ongoing war on Ukraine, Russia reportedly used drones from the Shahed series.
Alibaba removed the listing from the website after the American publication Motherboard reached out for comment, Vice reported.
Reacting to the development, X user Philip Pilkington wrote: "Talk about commodification. You can now buy your Iranian suicide drones - sans payload - straight from Alibaba. Its a new world."
According to the report in Vice, Ukraine hasclaimed that Russia usedsome 3,000 Shahed suicide drones on the country over the past two years of the war.
(With inputs from agencies)
