Saudi Arabia to Myanmar, Iraq to Ethiopia. Chinese unmanned military drones are being procured by various countries' forces. These drones are being used in conflict, war.
According to a report by Al-Jazeera, China has become the place of dependence of various countries in the world for military drones. This has made China the world's leading exporter of military drones.
Chinese drones are being used by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. More than 8,000 Yemeni civilians have been killed in airstrikes carried out by the coalition for eight years.
According to Iraqi government data, as of mid-2018, they have carried out more than 260 attacks against the Islamic State (IS) militant group using Chinese drones. The success rate of these attacks is almost 100%.
Myanmar is also not behind in the use of Chinese military drones. Over the past two years, Myanmar's military junta has carried out hundreds of airstrikes against the country's pro-democracy civilians as well as armed ethnic groups. They used Chinese drones in these attacks. In February 2021, Myanmar's military seized power through a coup.
On the other hand, Chinese drones were one of the weapons used by Prime Minister Abi Ahmed Ali to suppress anti-government rebels in the African country of Ethiopia. He also used drones made in Iran and Turkey.
Other buyers of China-made military drones include Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Serbia, among others. This drone is capable of launching air-to-ground missiles. They can also gather intelligence.
According to Sweden-based Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), China has supplied at least 282 military drones to 17 countries in the past decade. Through this, China became the leading exporter of military drones in the world. At the same time, the United States exported only 12 military drones abroad. Washington has given these military drones to France and the UK. However, the United States is still the top exporter of unarmed drones used for intelligence surveillance.
The active sponsorship of the country's government in the sector has been one of the key factors behind China's dominance of the armed drone market over the past decade.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is determined to make the country's military world-class. According to him, armed drones are capable of changing the situation of any war a lot.
China's ruling Communist Party held its National Congress last year. At this congress, Xi Jinping promised to accelerate the development of all types of drones, including armed and unarmed.
In this regard, John Skous, a senior fellow at the US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said that drones are one of the most important parts of China's information-based warfare concept. Such advanced technology increases the ability to conduct operations without being physically present in an area far from the border. It also has less infrastructural or political risk.
However, there is no information that China has carried out drone strikes anywhere so far. However, Beijing conducted military exercises around Taiwan around the visit of the then Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, to Taipei last September. In addition to warplanes, military drones are used in the exercise.
China considers Taiwan an integral part of its territory. Beijing has not ruled out using force if necessary to take control of the island. So it can be said that Chinese military drones will play an important role in any future conflict centered on Taiwan.
Chinese military analyst Fu Qianshao told the country's Communist Party-owned tabloid Global Times in September last year that military drones would be one of the first weapons deployed in any conflict in the Taiwan Strait.
Western analysts also warn that China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) could use a significant number of drones at the beginning of any conflict over Taiwan.
Low prices, flexibility in terms The main goal of China's drone project so far has been to replicate the capabilities of other countries. Akhil Kadidal, correspondent of defense media Janes, thinks so. He mentioned that China has sold the most drone named 'Chaihong-4'. It is very similar to the US-made MQ-9 Rapper drone. Apart from this, China has made Wing Lung-2 drone modeled after the US MQ-1 Predator. Basically, China made these drones to defeat the western opponents. The country has invested heavily in this sector. Citing the example of Wing Lung-2 and Wing Lung-3 drones, Akhil said that they are faster than the similar drones of the United States. Even these Chinese drones are capable of carrying more weapons. In terms of design and capabilities, they are very close to US drones. However, the price of this drone made in China is relatively low. So buyers are more inclined towards Chinese drones.
According to the data of the US-based think tank CSIS, to buy China-made CH-4 and Wing Lung-2, the buyer has to pay 10 to 20 million dollars for each one. On the other hand, the price of each MQ-9 Rapper drone made in the United States is about 16 million dollars. The MQ-1 Predator costs slightly less, at $4 million. Therefore, Chinese drones are in high demand among buyers because they are relatively cheap. Douglas Barry, a senior fellow at the UK-based think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), said the price of China-made drones is relatively low. In some cases the capacity is slightly less. But price may be more important to buyers than capability. Hence the demand for Chinese drones is increasing. China offers flexible terms for buyers to pay for drones. In this regard, Beijing-based analyst Zhou Chenming told the Chinese news outlet South China Morning Post last year that Chinese companies are well aware that North African countries, one of the buyers of their drones, are not very rich. These countries are not able to buy drones with cash. In that case, the Chinese companies are giving installment facilities to the buyers. Even drones are being given in exchange for the natural resources of the buyer country.
No problem with restrictions Analysts say one of the biggest reasons for China's dominance in the drone market is US export controls in the sector. So buyer countries are more inclined towards China. The United States has limited its military drone exports under the 1987 Missile Technology Control Regime. For this reason, Washington rejected the request to buy drones from Jordan, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates. Later these countries approached China. According to IISS Senior Fellow Franz-Stephen Gaddy, China has fewer controls or restrictions on drone sales, so there are more buyers.
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