Garpiya is a family of long-range combat drone produced by IEMZ Kupol for use in the Russo-Ukrainian War. It incorporate engines, parts, and technology from China.
Manufacturing
The Garpiya is produced by IEMZ Kupol which is a subsidiary of Almaz-Antey. Its development included input from Chinese specialists in unmanned combat aerial vehicles. IEMZ Kupol has set up a factory in China to produce kits for export to Russia. The main Russian manufacturing facility for Garpiyas is in Izhevsk, located in a former concrete plant acquired by IEMZ Kupol in 2020.
The Garpiya incorporate engines, parts, and technology from China but is assembled in Russia. According to the company 500 drones were produced in the second half of 2023 and 2,000 were produced in the first half of 2024.
The Garpiya-3 prototypes were produced in China and shipped to Russia for testing.
Combat history
Their use and production was first extensively reported on by Reuters in 2024. According to Reuters, the Garpiya-A1 has been used against Ukrainian civilian and military targets in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Design
They are similar in design to the HESA Shahed 136. The engine is a Limbach L550E from Xiamen Limbach.
Variants
- Garpiya-1A (initial variant)
- Garpiya-3 (advanced variant)
See also
References
- ^ "Exclusive: Russia produces kamikaze drone with Chinese engine". Reuters. September 14, 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-09-19. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
- "Russia Using Chinese Engines to Make Attack Drones – Reuters". themoscowtimes.com. The Moscow Times. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
- Hodunova, Kateryna. "Russia launched production of new drone with Chinese parts in 2023, Reuters reports". Kyiv Independent. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
- ^ McCartney, Micah. "Russia Secretly Building War Drones in China: Report". Newsweek. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
- "Russia Reportedly Deploys New, Domestically Developed Drones With Chinese Engines". Kyiv Post. Archived from the original on 26 September 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.