Russia has sharply increased the production of Harpy-A1 strike drones, despite Western sanctions. This was reported by Reuters, citing allegedly available documents.
According to the documents, the Izhevsk Electromechanical Plant "Kupol" (IEMZ "Kupol"), which is under sanctions, increased the annual production volume of "Harpy-A1" from 2,000 units in 2024 to more than 6,000 units in 2025.
It is claimed that this was made possible by stable supplies of Chinese-made L550E engines.
According to Malyasov, Western journalists allegedly had access to an internal report of IEMZ "Kupol". As of April 2025, the plant has supplied the Russian Ministry of Defense with over 1,500 Harpy-A1 drones out of the 6,000 planned.
"Harpy-A1" is comparable in characteristics to Iranian Shahed-131 and Shahed-136 drones. By using Chinese components, Moscow appears to have successfully circumvented some of the sanctions aimed at reducing its UAV production base.
According to information from open sources, "Harpy-A1" is a loitering munition similar in configuration to "Geran-2".
Characteristics of the Harpy-A1 strike drone:
- develops a speed of 185 km/h;
- range - 1500 km
- can carry a payload of up to 150 kg
Read more on the topic:
Defense news: Russia has found a way to build an "empire of drones"
Reuters: Izhevsk Electromechanical Plant "Kupol" launched production of UAV "Harpy-3" in China
