Austrian engines, South Korean and Malaysian microchips, US parts found in Iranian Mohajer-6 drones
Iranian drone engine (Photo:Twitter)
The Iranian-made drones used by Russia in attacks on Ukrainian cities have Austrian engines and use microprocessors from South Korea and Malaysia, adviser to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Anton Gerashchenko said on Twitter on Oct. 24.
Parts from Japanese, Chinese and U.S. manufacturers have also been recovered from the wreckage of drones that have been shot down.
The Iranian Mohajer-6 reconnaissance drone is equipped with an aircraft engine manufactured by the Austrian company Rotax. One of those UAVs crashed over the Black Sea in October, and photos of the destroyed Rotax engine were published by Gerashchenko on Twitter.
Previously, microprocessors from South Korea and Malaysia, bought in violation of sanctions, were found in the Shahed-136 kamikaze drone. Both drones are used by the Russian military in Ukraine.
While Iran denies handing over its weapons to Russia, these denials are false, as ample evidence collected in Ukraine has shown.
Rotax confirmed the engine from the drone was one of its, and announced the beginning of its own investigation, as the representatives of the company “have not authorized and has not given any authorization to its distributors to supply military UAV manufacturers in Iran or Russia.”
“Rotax aircraft engines are produced, designed and certified for civil use only by the applicable civil regulatory authority,” the company said in a statement.
Rotax came under criticism in 2020 for their aircraft engines being used in Turkey’s Bayraktar TB2 drones during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The company responded by suspending the supply of Rotax 912 models to countries that do not disclose the purpose of these engines.
Besides Rotax engines, the Iranian Mohajer-6 drone also used parts from Japanese, Chinese and U.S. manufacturers, including cameras, sensors and rangefinders, the Ukrainian military news portal “Militarnyy” reported on Oct. 21.
Previously, it came to light that the Iranians were able to bypass the sanctions and purchase microprocessors from South Korea and Malaysia on the commercial markets. The components are manufactured using U.S. ALTERA/INTEL technology.
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