Ukrainian drone that smashed TU-95 bomber is based on a smuggled UAV China refused to sell

Date:
Mon, 17 Aug 2026 18:10:00 +0000

Description:
A Russian TU-95 bomber destroyed on the tarmac was taken out by a Ukrainian drone developed from smuggled Chinese UAV technology.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter A Ukrainian drone strike in western Russia took out a TU-95 bomber while the craft was parked on the tarmac The drone technology used in the attack is based on the Chinese
ZTK-150 UAV Ukraines MICH 2000s were built when China stopped selling its UAVs, adapted for use in the war with Russia Ukrainian drones recently made a successful attack on a fleet of Russian military aircraft at an airstrip in western Russia, but while the TU-95 bomber and others were put out of action, the origins of the drones have raised eyebrows. The attack drones might have appeared to be Chinese ZTK-150s, but China has refused to sell the UAVs since 2023.

In fact, while they might look alike, the ZTK-150s have been effectively cloned by Ukraine, with customizations and improvements made to suit both the needs of the remote pilots and the demands of the Russo-Ukrainian war. Inspired by the performance and the unavailability of the ZTK-150s, Ukraine has instead developed the similar MICH 2000s, based on information gathered during trips to China. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here: Critical damage Attack drones were launched at the Engels-2 air base in western Russia on July 16, 2026, in an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle strike that targeted a Tupolev Tu-95 and four Tupolev Tu-22Ms. Aerial footage of the strikes aftermath, assessed by the Ukrainian state security body the SBU, revealed considerable damage to the Tu-95.

According to preliminary data, the plane suffered critical damage. It completely tore off the tail part, says the SBU report . You may like Satellite images confirm Ukraine's 800km drone strike destroyed an irreplaceable Russian bomber Ukraine reveals secret strike squadron of civilian planes transformed into deadly reusable drone bombers Ukraine claims low-cost drone obliterated a $50m Russian missile launcher system in seconds

How the Ukrainians achieved this has just been revealed, along with the story of how their forces managed to get their hands on drone hardware that seems extremely similar to the ZTK-150 a drone that China has banned sales of.

The MICH 2000 is the response to a floated deal to buy some ZTK-150s from China in 2023, despite an existing restriction on exports of the hardware. So that deal switched to selling the technology itself, something the visiting Ukrainian military bosses were interested in, but was also eventually refused by the factory management. So, the intermediaries dealing with the Ukrainians took a different approach, enabling the export of eight drones to an assembly point with no export restrictions and facilitating training. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get
all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting
your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Just an outline While a ZTK-150 costs $50,000, the Ukrainian MICH 2000 is $48,000 for the basic craft, and its resemblance to
the Chinese drone is purely skin-deep.

EuromaidenPress reports that the intermediaries assisted with a certain
degree of espionage at the ZTK-150 assembly line, with a source quoted: We came there to teach pilots to fly Chinese drones. And in parallel with the training, we photographed everything that was there. Everything from the production process to the arrangement of the shelves and cabinets. They flew home with trained pilots and eight Chinese drones.

Reports indicate an anonymous builder is assembling around 6,000 MICH 2000s a year with a possible increase to 10,000, with customizations to suit particular missions. These include warhead types, fuel tanks, electronic countermeasure protection, and even a choice of analog, digital, and Starlink communication.

MICH 2000 drones look set to lead UAV strikes against Russian targets,
perhaps even breaking the conflicts deadlock. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/ukrainian-drone-that-smashed-tu-95-bomber-is-bas ed-on-a-smuggled-uav-china-refused-to-sell


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