China recently signed an agreement to establish its first combat drone factory in the Middle East.
When the king of Saudi Arabia visited China earlier this month, the representatives from China and Saudi Arabia signed a series of deals worth $65 billion. King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology signed a partnership agreement with China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, a leading Chinese drone developer, reports the South China Morning Post.
CASC produces China’s most recognizable combat drone, the CH-4 attack and reconnaissance drone. The company plans to establish a factory in Saudi Arabia to increase regional sales, as well as provide additional after-sales services. The new factory will be China’s third overseas combat drone factory after the two in Pakistan and Myanmar.
CH-4 hunter-killer drones, which resemble General Atomics’ MQ-9 Reaper drones and are sometimes referred to as the “AK-47” of drones, are already being used in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan.
“The CH-4 has recorded outstanding performance in anti-terrorist attacks in Iraq, Yemen, as well as in Africa’s Sudan, Ethiopia and China’s neighboring Pakistan,” Zhou Chenming, a former employee at CASC’s drone development subsidiary, told SCMP, “That’s why our Saudi friends are so interested in the drone cooperation project.”
China is interested in boosting its presence in the global arms market.
While the U.S. is an undisputed leader in the development of unmanned aerial systems, it keeps its drone technology close and its armed drones even closer, creating new opportunities for rising challengers like China.
The Middle East is a booming market, especially for counter-terrorism weaponry. Top arms imports in the Middle East have risen 86 percent between 2012 and 2016.
Chinese drones are less capable compared to their U.S. counterparts, but they are good enough and significantly cheaper. For the price of one U.S. combat drone, buyers can purchase four or five Chinese drones. Iraq purchased CH-4 combat drones because they are cheaper and come without usage restrictions; the Iraqi military has been using Chinese drones against the Islamic State.
Watch: Chinese drones in Iraq
“China is developing drones to do the jobs of American drones, but for a much lower cost,” Daniel Katz, director for defense analysis and data at Aviation Week, previously told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “Chinese capabilities do not appear to match American capabilities, but they can get the job done.”
CASC has developed a new combat drone designated as the CH-5, which the company claims is just as effective as certain U.S. products.
The CH-5 “can perform whatever operations the MQ-9 Reaper can and is even better than the U.S. vehicle when it comes to flight duration and operational efficiency,” Shi Wen, a chief designer of the CH series drones at the China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics, explained to the China Daily.
Several foreign nations have reportedly expressed an interest in purchasing China’s CH-5 drones, and China is negotiating with them with plans to export its new weapons system.
With an expanded presence in the international arms trade, China could potentially secure improved defense agreements, thus increasing its global influence.
Some observers suggest that shifts in defense and arms deals reflect broader changes to the international order.
“Like so many regional powers, Saudi Arabia is hedging its bets,” Professor Jonathan Holslag, head of research at the Brussels Institute of Contemporary China Studies, told SCMP, “While military cooperation with the US remains very important, the Saudi government actively diversifies its security cooperation, so as to maximize its flexibility in responding to threats.”
“The global defence market is reflecting the increasingly fragmented world order,” he added.
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