What happens when a sanctioned Russian drone maker becomes Chinese?

A Chinese drone-parts supplier has taken a stake in one of Russia’s leading drone companies, marking the first documented instance of direct Chinese equity investment in a sanctioned Russian defence company and underscoring the countries’ growing military-industrial alignment.

According to a Financial Times report, a corporate filing made in September lists Wang Dinghua as the new owner of 5 per cent of Rustakt, the producer of the VT-40 first-person-view drone widely used by Russian forces in attacks on Ukrainian positions.

Wang, based in Shenzhen, owns Shenzhen Minghuaxin and several other companies that have supplied large volumes of drone components to Rustakt and affiliated firms.

While Beijing has already given Moscow broad access to China’s electronics manufacturing base, the equity link represents a previously unreported level of collaboration between a Chinese commercial entity and a Russian military supplier, added the report.

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The FT identified the ownership change in Russian public records. Within a day of the documents being accessed, however, Rustakt’s ownership information was suppressed and removed from official corporate registries. Details of the share transfer have also disappeared from private corporate-intelligence databases inside Russia, reported Financial Times.

Before the data was expunged, Rustakt was listed as 95 per cent owned by businessman Pavel Nikitin.

The company, sanctioned by both Ukraine and the EU, is described by Ukrainian authorities as participating in Russia’s “Judgment Day” programme, which supports the production of uncrewed aerial vehicles and pilot training for the war effort.

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Rustakt was Russia’s largest importer of FPV drone components between July 2023 and February 2025, according to a report published earlier this year by Kyiv’s Centre for Defence Reforms, a Ukrainian think-tank.

The company has previously filed paperwork describing itself as the manufacturer of the VT-40 drone.

Russian state media reported in 2023 that the model — despite complaints from frontline soldiers about its build quality — had been deployed across artillery units, engineering troops, airborne forces and marine brigades.

‘Logical’ partnership

Samuel Bendett, a drone analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told FT that growing collaboration between the Russian and Chinese military-industrial sectors — combined with Moscow’s dependence on Chinese drone components — made the partnership “logical.”

A former Ukrainian officer with the analytical group Frontelligence Insight said the VT-40 is now widely deployed by Russian forces along the front line in Ukraine. Since appearing on the battlefield in 2023, the drone has undergone multiple upgrades to improve its resistance to electronic warfare and to strengthen its control systems, he told FT.

“While it is not outstanding in any single category, its mass production, low cost and ready availability have made it a reliable workhorse for Russian units,” he added.

Rustakt and Minghuaxin had extensive commercial ties well before the September stake purchase.

According to FT analysis of Russian customs data, Minghuaxin shipped $304mn in parts to Rustakt and $107mn to an affiliated Russian company, Santex Plant.

Customs records indicate Rustakt bought $110mn of lithium-ion batteries, $87mn of motors and $64mn of controllers from Minghuaxin since mid-2023. Santex purchased $66mn of controllers and $37mn of DC motors — transactions that appear coordinated, as Russian filings show almost all of Santex’s customs paperwork was submitted by Rustakt.

Rustakt’s owner, Pavel Nikitin, previously worked at Santex and held shares there before being succeeded by a Belarusian man, Egor Nikitin. Russian filings list Egor with the same surname, patronymic and birthday as Pavel, suggesting the men may be twin brothers, added the report.

Chinese corporate records reviewed by the FT show Wang holds a 10 per cent stake in Shenzhen Nasmin Investment, with Egor owning the remaining 90 per cent.

Rustakt’s filings with Russian regulators also show it has imported Chinese production equipment, including metalworking machines and plastic-injection moulders supplied by Shenzhen Kiosk Electronic — a company that Chinese records indicate is majority-owned by Wang.

Drones have become central to both sides’ war efforts.

“Russia has moved to industrial-scale use of FPV drones,” FT quoted Oleksandr Danylyuk, head of the Centre for Defence Reforms, as saying.

“We are talking about thousands of units per day and tens of thousands per month. These were produced through the ‘Russian Drone’ network in conjunction with Rustakt and other firms," Danylyuk added.

The Russian manufacturers “all critically depend on Chinese brushless motors and electronics supplied via a network of intermediaries and importers”, Danylyuk added.

At Minghuaxin’s registered address in Shenzhen, reporters found the offices of Shenzhen Kiosk Electronic. Display screens and other electronics lined the lobby. A staff member described Minghuaxin as a business partner of Shenzhen Kiosk’s boss, reported FT.

Asked if that boss was Wang Dinghua, she was quoted as saying, “You can understand it this way.” She declined to provide contact details, saying Wang and other leaders were unavailable.

She said the company manufactures a range of electronics, including drone-related technologies, and engages in exports, though she did not know whether drones were being sold to Russia.

China’s foreign ministry said it was not aware of details of Wang’s shareholding but insisted Beijing “had never provided lethal weapons to either side of the conflict and strictly controls and manages civil-military dual-use technologies”.

With inputs from agencies