In a covert deal with Russia’s notorious Wagner Group, over 2,500 DJI Mavic2 drones were sent from Beijing to Moscow, according to the Mirror. The helicopter-like drones are known to ‘swarm’ their targets as they are deployed in large numbers.
The Chinese drones carry explosive tips and drop bombs on targets with the capability to demolish a number of military or civilian targets.
The secret exchange was the product of a number of murky meetings between Chinese and Russian spies, cyber experts from China, and the Wagner Group.
A ‘swarm network’ sees a large number of drones attack a target with a common goal which is directed by artificial intelligence.
Such a goal could be that the deployment is driven by a desire to cause maximum destruction or launch an aerial spy ring which can feed intelligence back to forces in charge of artillery or air-attacks.
The Daily Mirror reviewed an intelligence report which said: “The group is attempting to develop a swarm platform for coordinated autonomous drone orchestration using the 2,500 delivered recently from China.
“The communications channel between the Wagernites and the Chinese Communist Party is in two cloaked networks, one in Russia and one in China.”
The document added: “That network is responsible for the clandestine shipments of war materials being used against Ukraine, regardless of how much the Chinese deny it.”
The mercenary group has set up an IT research and development office in St Petersburg with the aim of developing Chinese-style ‘bot farms’ and the new swarm technology.
READ MORE: Emergency medical responders sacked over Tyre Nichols death
The White House has revealed that casualties are “extraordinarily high” from the estimated 40,000 convicts hired by the group.
The deal comes as Russia is thought to be preparing for a new offensive in the spring or summer.
Vadym Skibitsky from Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate said earlier this month that Russian forces are regrouping in preparation for a “big offensive” in the eastern regions of Ukraine.
The Institute for the Study of War said: “ISW has previously assessed that Russian forces may be preparing for a decisive effort (of either offensive or defensive nature) in Luhansk Oblast and observed a redeployment of conventional forces such as Airbourne (VDV) elements to the Svatove-Kreminna axis after the Russian withdrawal from Kherson Oblast.”
