Iranian drones are based not on Western components, but on their Chinese counterparts
Iranian Shahed-136 kamikaze drones use an engine manufactured by Beijing-based MicroPilot Flight Control Systems. It may be a “reverse” copy of an engine built by the German company Limbach Flugmotoren, quite usual for China, according to a report by the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS).
The Institute analyzed information from open sources, which collected registered or presented as "Western" parts and components used in Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in their original design, as well as in Geran-2 attack drones used by Russian forces in special military operation in Ukraine.
According to the conclusion of ISIS experts, a number of components used in Iranian UAVs are ready-made aviation components and products that are used in civil aircraft. The countries of origin of the samples identified include Austria, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Many components are aviation parts and assemblies from Western companies; at the same time, most of them are Chinese or Iranian copies or alterations
- stated in the summary of the ISIS report.
The key component of the Shahed-136 drone, the MD550 engine, is based on the L550e aircraft engine developed by the German aircraft manufacturer Limbach. The MD550 is identical in design to the original engine from Germany, but is manufactured by Beijing MicroPilot Flight Control Systems, a Chinese company based in Beijing. The 4-stroke D550 is rated at 50 horsepower and runs on gasoline.
In 2012, Limbach established a subsidiary in China (Xiamen Limbach Aircraft Engine Co., Ltd.) to manufacture L550 series engines and other types. “It is not clear how the Beijing company mastered the production of its engine,” notes the ISIS report, it is even possible that Limbach or its agent sold a legal license to China for their L550 engines. In turn, Iran, according to American experts, “has a long history of illegally acquiring Limbach engines” for its drone program also since the 2010s.
An earlier version of the Shahed-136 UAV - Shahed-131. The basis of this design was also used by Russian troops in Ukraine in small quantities, under the name "Geran-1". The drone contains a redesigned Iranian Surat-1/Surat-2 engine based on the Chinese MDR-208 design, which in turn is based on the British AR731 aircraft engine manufactured by UAV Engines LTD.
Surat models have been repeatedly shown by Iran at aviation exhibitions as a product of domestic production - by MADO, an Iranian manufacturer of components for unmanned aerial vehicles. The power of this engine is less than the engine used in the Shahed-136, which provides a lower range and payload.
- noted in the ISIS report.
The Mohajer-6, first unveiled in 2017, is an ISTAR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance) class drone with a maximum range of 300 kilometers and is equipped with four precision-guided missiles. The drone has the ability to provide real-time video recording of the battlefield to artillery units or perform other relevant combat missions, creating electronic interference. The Russian version of this design, equipped with GLONASS navigation modules for increased accuracy, has also been used in the NVO in southern Ukraine and in the Donbass.
However, the ISIS report only talks about the original Mohajer-6 UAV, which is produced by the Iranian company Qods Aviation. The engine used in it bears the Rotax 912 brand. It is a sports aircraft engine manufactured by the Austrian company BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG, it has a power of 100 horsepower and runs on gasoline. "The engine is popular in civil small-frame aircraft," American experts point out, explaining its wide availability on the market.
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