Deep Dive: Why Chinese drones are fading into obscurity

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Once useful primarily to film weddings and landscapes, the Chinese-made DJI Mavic has become a critical tool of war in Ukraine.

Useful for short-range reconnaissance and to carry small munitions, Russia initially did not have the tactics or tools to combat them. 

But now with the battlefield quickly shifting, the Ukrainian military and defense industry  wants to replace these popular Chinese drones with its own products – many of them already proven on the battlefield under difficult electronic warfare conditions.

The problem with Mavics

Since 2023, China has been restricting the export of drones and components. The most recent restriction came out in September and applied to motors, frames and navigation cameras for quadcopters, radio communications, as well as video signal transmission systems via radio channels.

This made getting Chinese components more difficult, said a source in a Ukrainian company that produces reconnaissance drones. He spoke anonymously due to the sensitivity of his business. 

Still, despite the new rules, his company quickly found a stable way to get Chinese supplies.

“Now we have to buy through other countries. Overall the cost has increased just by 5-10% and the waiting time has increased by 3-5 days. It is not critical and we work calmly, as for now,” said the source.

Ukrainian volunteers and charities also continue to buy Mavics — now just via different channels and other countries, said ‘Come Back Alive,’ the biggest Ukrainian foundation for military support. 

But uncertainty has made the product unreliable: there are concerns that China may totally ban drone exports and leave Ukraine without this critical tool. 

So now one of the most important goals for Ukraine is to eliminate dependence on foreign products, explained the head of the Ministry of Strategic industries German Smetanin.

The rejection of Chinese parts is primarily a matter of defense capability, said Kateryna Mykhalko, executive director of the Technological Forces of Ukraine (TSU), an organization that unites more than 30 drone manufacturing companies. 

But unpredictable Chinese policy is far from the only reason to decouple from Chinese products. The Mavic was not created for military missions, and is thus especially vulnerable to electronic warfare, said Anton, whose Frontline company developed the reconnaissance drone ‘Zoom.’ 

“[The Mavic] is still a civilian drone that operates on purely dedicated frequencies. And no matter what you do, it chokes easily under the EW,” the developer said.

So to adapt, Ukrainian soldiers need to modify Mavics by attaching different antennas and communication amplifiers, just to make them work on the modern battlefield.

Mavics also use a vulnerable, insecure method to transmit video, which can be disrupted or intercepted by electronic warfare (see our recent story on drone detection via interception).

“The videos are intercepted, the pilots' positions are found. Therefore… encrypted channels are needed so that information on its way to the guys does not reach the enemy,” said Mykola, the lead engineer of the ‘WIY Kruk’ reconnaissance drone.

Ukrainian domestic Mavic alternatives: 

Ukraine has at least eight private companies developing drones to replace Mavics. They have produced: drones called”

1. Shmavic;

2. Zoom (produced by ‘Frontline’);

3. Ptakh-S;

4. WIY Kruk;

5. Ukropter;

6. Gryphon Roxolana;

7. Yautja; and

8. PD10ND.

These drones were presented in November on a secret proving ground. There drones went through six flight demonstrations where each team had to complete a task — a 10 km flight at an altitude of over 250 m and a target search. These tests were observed by General Staff, Unmanned Systems Forces Command and other units.

The first three of them have already received codification from the Ministry of Defence, which means that the state can buy them for the Ukrainian military.

The most well-known of them is Shmavic.

It was the first Ukrainian Mavic-replacement, appearing in April and already in use by the Ukrainian military. 80 percent of this drone is developed by the company, with components produced in Ukraine and a few EU countries, says its developer. Basic microchips are bought abroad. The batteries are produced in China, said its developer.

Some of these eight drones have also already been used on the battlefield. For example the drone «Ukropter» has already been deployed in eastern Ukraine and in the Sumy region, said microcontroller engineer Maksym.

All of these drones are claimed to be able to work despite the challenging EW environment, and almost all of them are allegedly able to change the frequencies during the flight. 

At least three of them cost about as much as the DJI Mavic (around $3,500), although some of them — such as the Ptakh-S — cost much more: around $13,000. All of them are heavier than the Mavic — some even six times as heavy.

Many of these companies use different antennas so their operators will not be caught by the enemy. For example, the drone ‘Zoom’ uses encrypted communication. And unlike the Mavic, the ‘Zoom’ drone does not need to receive the confirmation about video transmission from its ground station.

This drone also uses pseudo-random operational frequency readjustment (PROFR). It means that the signal is always received on different signal frequencies. The signal changes frequency 60 times per second — so it's impossible to predict which frequency will be next.

Why Chinese components still have appeal (for now)

Developing Ukraine’s own Mavic-equivalents will reduce dependence on foreign purchases, as well as benefit the Ukrainian economy, explained the minister Smetanin. 

Now the main task for Ukraine here is to make drones of similar quality and price as Mavics. 

The developer of WIY Kruk said that, for example, they can produce motors in Ukraine with the same quality as China does. But right now, due to its smaller scale, the price will be 3 times higher.

And at the moment, Chinese producers can deliver custom-made circuit boards in just two weeks. These same circuit boards could be produced in Ukraine, but it is two times more expensive and takes almost two months, said Anton. 

Most of these eight manufacturers use Chinese components in their products.

Theoretically, Ukraine could fully supply the market for UAV parts, said Kateryna Mykhalko from Technological Forces of Ukraine. But this would require time, investments and long-term contracts. So now it is just financially wiser to buy Chinese components – especially when you consider taxes.

“Chinese and all other imported components [that are used in drones] are exempt from taxation when they cross the border. If you buy from a Ukrainian manufacturer, there is no tax exemption. Accordingly, the product becomes more expensive and less competitive,” said Mykhalko.

But price is not the only reason for the Chinese component advantage. European and American cameras often are worse when it comes to quality, said developer Anton. 

“No one can create such good cameras as Mavics has… Sensors in these cameras are produced by Sony and they are contracted for 10 years in advance. So you will always lose in case of image quality, That's why we need to use bigger cameras,” — says the developer Anton. 

If the Chinese market is suddenly closed, the ‘Shmavic’ developer already has backup options. Displays and optics can be bought in South Korea. They have already tested other options just in case of possible prohibition.

For now, the enduring use of Mavics

According to the Ukrainian State Customs Service, by September of this year Ukraine had imported drones worth $836 million. That’s almost two times more than in all of 2023. Around 93% of this went to Chinese-made goods. The most common drones imported were the Mavic 3 and Mavic 3T. 

The Ukrainian government and volunteer organizations buy thousands of them (see our story on how charities play a role in defense procurement). For now, Mavics are the most common reconnaissance drones in the Ukrainian Army, said Smetanin.

The reason for this popularity is simple: Mavics are comparatively cheap — around $3,500, but often good enough. The Mavic 3 and Mavic 3T are among the best copters for close-range recon and dropping small munitions, said captain Yurii Fedorenko, commander of the 'Achilles’ strike UAV battalion (92nd brigade).

“On a tactical level Mavics are still indispensable,” said Fedorenko.

But in the medium-term, it is critical for Ukraine to reduce its reliance on Chinese-made products and components – to find a Mavic-alternative  which has the same value for money.

“Rearmament does not happen in one day… We need to produce as much as we can and put the focus on this — just because we need to get off the China needle [as in a drug]. But still we should order as much as we can, at least while there is this option,” the captain said.