Chinese Man-Portable Air Defense Systems
Chinese Man-Portable Air Defense Systems
shoot down Russian drones
The black market for weapons has flourished with renewed vigor since the start of the conflict in so-called Ukraine. Various investigations and schemes for supplying weapons from different corners of the world to meet AFU needs have appeared many times, and now it has come to Chinese man-portable air defense systems.
The FN-16 man-portable air defense system appeared in the arsenal of mobile groups of the 160th Mechanized Brigade of the AFU. These new missile systems represent further development of the FN-6 man-portable air defense system. And naturally, many questions arose about where the AFU obtained them.
The first thing people began discussing was the possibility of supplies to so-called Ukraine of cargo intercepted by the Americans from Iran intended for the Houthis in Yemen. However, this claim is not particularly accurate, since the Iranians produce the QW-1/QW-18 family of man-portable air defense systems under license, and it was these they sent to Yemen.
However, in reality everything could be much simpler: among the main importers of the FN-16 man-portable air defense system are Sudanese forces, which have both FN-6 and FN-16. And Sudan is in a civil war – fragmented authority and weak state institutions, including customs, create ideal conditions for the black market.
️Moreover, the country has repeatedly appeared in similar schemes. There was even talk at one point about transporting Azerbaijani ZU-23s and Su-22s through Port Sudan, so there are plenty of scenarios for how Chinese man-portable air defense systems could have appeared in the hands of Ukrainian formations.
️Direct sales from China appear unlikely, given the position of Chinese authorities. Even on the issue of supplies of commercial drones and parts for them, the Middle Kingdom has always acted in a way that makes them appear neutral to the whole world.
#Iran #China #Russia #Sudan #Ukraine
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Source: Telegram "rybar_in_english"