Chinese duplication of products has long been a known phenomenon, but a recent instance takes the cake as a Chinese company allegedly replicated an Iranian military drone and offered it for sale on the Alibaba online marketplace, as reported by Vice News.
The duplicated drone belongs to the Shahed series and was initially listed on Alibaba without its payload. The report suggests that the drone was eventually removed from the site.
Byron Wan, identified as X user, brought attention to this situation, stating that a company named Sunlipo Energy Shenzen Co Limited was marketing a fixed-wing drone, XHZ-50, closely resembling Iran’s Shahed 136 loitering munition (suicide drone) on Alibaba for $57,000.
Wan shared specifications of the Iranian drone, noting its similarities to the Chinese version. The Shahed 136, developed by Iran’s HESA in 2021, is a long-range suicide drone designed for targeting fixed objectives. It boasts a payload capacity of 36kg of explosives, a range of 2,500 kilometers, a maximum speed of 135 km per hour, and dimensions including a weight of 200 kg, a length of 3.5 meters, and a wingspan of 2.5 meters.
The Alibaba-listed drone, named XHZ-50 Fixed Wing UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle), was priced at $57,000, with a minimum order requirement of one set. Its specifications closely mirrored those of the Iranian counterpart, weighing 150 pounds, utilizing gasoline as fuel, and operating as a remote-controlled drone with a range of six miles.
During the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Russia, which had previously purchased Shahed 136 from Iran, reportedly deployed drones from the Shahed series.
Alibaba removed the listing from its platform after Motherboard, an American publication, sought comment on the matter. The development elicited reactions, with one user, Philip Pilkington, expressing amazement at the commodification of Iranian suicide drones available for purchase on Alibaba.
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