Russia Ukraine war: Last Sunday, the Ukrainian military shot down a modernised and weaponized Chinese-made Mugin-5 drone in eastern Ukraine. Over the weekend, the Mugin-5 drone, made by Mugin Ltd, a Chinese firm based in Xiamen, was shot down by AK-47s in the war-torn country, according to reports.
The Mugin-5 drone, a brief overview of the Chinese-made UAV
These unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are also referred to as “Alibaba drones” since they can be acquired for up to $15,000 on the Chinese online marketplaces Alibaba and Taobao.Mugin Ltd, the company that manufactures the drone, confirmed the incident, calling it “very regrettable.” Mugin Limited verified that the craft discovered near Sloviansk, eastern Ukraine, was one of its own. The drone contained a 20-kilogram bomb, which Ukrainian soldiers later detonated.
The rise of weaponized civilian drones
The incident is the latest example of a civilian drone being converted and weaponized since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, demonstrating how warfare patterns are swiftly altering. At before 2 a.m. on Saturday night, fighters from Ukraine’s 111th Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces heard a drone overhead and saw a flashing light.
A closer look at the use of drones in conflicts
“UAV was flying at very low altitude – close enough to bring it down with hand-held weapons,” said Maksim, a 35-year-old territory defence fighter. The Russian Ministry of Defense has yet to respond to the incident. The weaponized commercial drone lacked a camera, indicating that it was not employed for surveillance. Researchers speculated that it could have been deployed as a “dumb bomb,” according to Chris Lincoln-Jones, a drone warfare specialist.
Drones have been used in the fight by both Russia and Ukraine
“This particular drone that we’ve been looking at would be lot more useful if it had a competent camera in it,” retired British Army officer Chris Lincoln-Jones said. “This appears to be a really crude, naive, and technologically primitive method of performing operations,” he continued. Drones have been used in the fight by both Russia and Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a military invasion of Ukraine. Drones are employed for surveillance, locating enemy locations, and guiding artillery targets towards them.
Russian-controlled Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine
“Both Russia and Ukraine have employed commercially accessible Chinese platforms like this during the conflict,” said NR Jenzen-Jones, an armaments and munitions intelligence analyst. In January, officials in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine claimed in a Telegram post that they had shot down a Ukrainian Mugin-5.
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