China adds muscle to arms exports
swayed by concerns over civilian casualties,” he said.
At the start of the year, a satellite passing over southern Saudi Arabia photographed U.S.-made surveillance drones at an airfield, alongside Chinese-manufactured armed ones.
According to the Center for the Study of the Drone at New York’s Bard College, that was the first documented example of the two drone systems being used in the war in Yemen. The country has emerged as “sort of a testing ground for these strike-capable drones,” said Dan Gettinger, the co-director of the Center for the Study of the Drone. “There’s a rapid turnaround from delivery to deployment.”
U.S. drones first were used in Yemen to kill suspected al-Qaida militants in 2002.
One of the biggest Chinese exports is the CaiHong, or Rainbow, series made by the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., or CASC, the largest contractor for the Chinese space program.
CASC’s CH-4 and CH-5 models are on par with San Diego-based General Atomics’ Predator and Reaper drones, and much cheaper. Independent analysts say the Chinese models lag behind their American counterparts but the technology is good enough to justify the price tag, which might be half or less.
A CASC executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to journalists, said cutting-edge U.S. models such as Boeing Co.’s Stingray, introduced this year for the U.S. Navy, still hold a technological advantage.
And while price is an advantage, so, too, is a more relaxed attitude toward how drones are used, said Ulrike Franke, an expert on drones and policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations
Since 2014, China has sold more than 30 CH-4s to countries including Saudi Arabia and Iraq in deals worth more than $700 million, according to CASC. Ten countries are in negotiations to purchase the CH-4, according to the firm.
“In recent years, all types of drones have proven their value and importance through a high degree of use in warfare, and the military has noticed,” the top CASC executive said. “Many countries are now speeding up the development for these weapons systems, including China.”
During President Xi Jinping’s five years in power, China has stepped up spending on stealth fighters and aircraft carriers for its own military, while boosting sales of advanced equipment such as attack submarines to close allies including Pakistan.
China still lags behind the U.S., Russia, France and Germany in total arms sales, but it is catching up. Chinese arms exports rose by 38 percent between 2008-12 and 2013-17, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which tracks the global arms trade.
Mounting criticism about the rising civilian death toll in Yemen prompted the U.S. to impose restrictions on drone sales, forcing foreign countries to go through the U.S. government to buy armed drones, including those with laser-guidance systems.
The New America Foundation estimates more than 240 drone strikes in Yemen have killed more than 1,300 people.