China appears to have developed its own version of Iran’s much-vaunted HESA ‘Shahed 136’, Ukrainian publisher Defense Express reports.
Called the “Sunflower 200,” it is allegedly of “compromised quality” and a very close copy of the original Iranian drone. First showcased at China’s ‘Army-2023’ exhibition, it has raised concerns about the proliferation of such drones.
The HESA “Shahed 136,”, called the “Geran-2” in Russian service, is an Iranian autonomous pusher-prop drone designed and manufactured by Shahed Aviation Industries to function as a loitering munition. The munition is designed to attack ground targets from a distance.
It is fired in multiples from a launch rack in batches of five or more to overwhelm air defenses by consuming their resources during the attack. The first public footage of the drone was released in December 2021.
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