Ukraine's 'Exercise' for China: How the 'Deadly Killer' Was Developed

Ukraine copied a Chinese drone that China refused to sell it, developed its own version named MICH-2000, and turned it into a deep-strike weapon reaching up to 2,000 km. The drone, developed after a Ukrainian team documented the factory in China, was used in strikes against Russian targets, including the Engels-2 base. Annual production stands at about 6,000 units, with a target of 10,000.

Ukraine nearly exactly copied a Chinese drone intended for deep strikes, developed its own version named MICH-2000, and turned it into a deadly strike tool. Reports were published after the drone was accidentally exposed in footage of Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory. According to the report, it is one of the main tools of the SBU, Ukraine's security service. The drone was behind the July 16 strike on the Engels-2 air force base in western Russia. The drones flew about 800 kilometers and hit a Tu-95 bomber, which suffered critical damage including the severing of part of its tail. Satellite imagery confirmed its destruction. The MICH-2000 began its journey in the summer of 2023, after China restricted exports of the civilian ZTK-150 drone. At the end of 2023, a team of Ukrainian developers arrived in China, documented the factory, and returned with eight Chinese units. About two years later, Ukraine developed the MICH-2000, in which almost nothing of the original remained except its outlines. The Ukrainian version costs about $48,000, can fly up to 2,000 kilometers, and carry a warhead weighing 25 to 60 kilograms. It has already attacked ports, military and industrial sites in the Moscow area and at Engels-2. Production stands at about 6,000 units per year, with a target of 10,000.