The Chinese company Harxon is supplying Russia with critically important antennas for Geran strike drones, disguising them as equipment for agricultural machinery.
This is detailed in a joint investigation by The Insider and Nordsint.
These are CRPA satellite navigation antennas, which help the drones counter Ukrainian electronic warfare systems and lock onto targets more accurately.
Unlike conventional antennas, such systems can determine the direction of the interference source and filter out jamming, maintaining access to the satellite signal.
According to investigators, Ukrainian experts have repeatedly found exactly these components in the wreckage of Russian Geran drones.
Posing as Russian buyers, journalists contacted the Chinese company Harxon, after which company representatives agreed to arrange delivery through another entity.
In correspondence, Harxon manager Masha Wu explicitly stated that the contract would not be drawn up in the company’s name, as the matter is ‘sensitive.’
Subsequently, communication was transferred to a representative of NavX Technology, which, according to the investigation, may be acting as a conduit to circumvent export restrictions.
The NavX representative offered 7-, 8-, and 16-channel antennas, whose specifications match those of components found in Russian drones.
During the negotiations, he also confirmed cooperation with the Russian company Alabuga — the manufacturer of the Geran and Gerbera drones.
Investigators received an invoice for the supply of 200 antennas with a total value of over ¥5.4 million, or approximately $800,000.
The documents proposed that payment be made through the Russian bank VTB, which has already been implicated in schemes to procure components for the Russian military-industrial complex.
Despite Beijing’s official stance that it does not supply lethal aid to parties to the war, the investigation indicates that shipments of Chinese components continue—without which Russian long-range drones would be significantly less effective.
It was recently reported that Geran-5 jet drones have been deployed near Oryol to strike Ukraine.