A new Russian drone built to deceive Ukrainian air defenses has been exposed by Ukraine’s intelligence as being made entirely from Chinese components. Militarnyi reports that the aircraft, though intended primarily as a decoy, is capable of carrying a 15-kg warhead.

Drone mimics Shahed shape but is smaller and Chinese-made

Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate has published a detailed breakdown of the drone’s construction. Although its main function is to act as a false target alongside long-range drones, it can also carry a warhead weighing up to 15 kg.

The complete list of components has been published on the War&Sanctions portal. The Website identify the drone as TsBST.611000.

All onboard systems and electronic blocks are of Chinese origin. Nearly half of them — including the flight controller with autopilot, navigation modules and antennas, airspeed sensor, and Pitot tube — come from a single Chinese company, CUAV Technology. The company specializes in developing and producing UAV system modules and applications.

Banned CUAV tech still shows up in new Russian UAV

The UAV is also equipped with a Chinese-made copy of the Australian RFD900x data transmission module by RFDesign. Like the original, this device is designed to transmit data over long distances — up to 40 km in line of sight depending on the antenna. It enables data links from the drone to a ground station or from one UAV to another, expanding reconnaissance capabilities.

In October 2022, CUAV Technology announced restrictions on supplying its products to both Ukraine and Russia to prevent their use in military applications. However, in 2023, Russia presented a vertical takeoff drone as an original development, which turned out to be a CUAV product available on Aliexpress.

Russia’s Gerbera drone crash in Lithuania occurred after the object entered from Belarus and fell near the Šumskas checkpoint. According to Delfi, it resembled the type of UAV Russia uses in its war against Ukraine.

Lithuanian military tracked object from Belarus before crash

On 10 July, around 11:30, Lithuanian Armed Forces detected an object approaching from the direction of Belarus. In a Facebook post, the Armed Forces said the Air Force activated NATO fighter jets already in the air by switching them from training to mission mode.

Shortly after detection, the object fell to the ground. The mission was canceled. Military units notified the State Border Guard Service (VSAT), and troops were sent to the crash site.

The Lithuanian military said the object appeared homemade and posed no danger.

Drone crashed near closed Šumskas checkpoint

Delfi, citing border guards, reported the drone crashed approximately one kilometer from the Belarusian border, close to the closed Šumskas checkpoint in Vilnius District Municipality.

BNS initially reported the object as a Shahed 136 drone — an Iranian-designed craft carrying 50 kg of TNT, which Russia widely uses to target Ukrainian cities. However, that was later corrected. A VSAT representative confirmed it resembled a homemade UAV.

Giedrius Mišutis, spokesperson for VSAT, stated the drone was first detected by the Kenna outpost.

“It appears to be a homemade UAV,” Mišutis said. “There is no indication the object carried any cargo.”

The object was reportedly made of plywood and foam. Officials said it posed no threat.

Mišutis also noted that VSAT had not recently observed smuggling activity involving drones, balloons, or improvised aircraft.

Defense Express: Lithuania failed to identify or down the drone

The Ukrainian outlet Defense Express criticized Lithuania not only for failing to intercept the drone, but for failing to identify it altogether. The publication emphasized that the deeper issue lies in the lack of basic knowledge about Russian drone types.

“The real problem,” the outlet noted, “is that they don’t know what even Ukrainian children consider common knowledge.”