already reported, I have some small doubts, but if true, this would mean that China needs alot more of these types of loitering munitions. It would also be good as a model for a PLA optimized version.
Are there even 90 countries that have air forces? This sounds like a brag. No offense to the Iranian defense industry but what special ingredient is there in the Iranian suicide drone (which is very effective by the way) that China doesn’t have?
The fuselage — similar to Harpy, which China a has acquired in the 90s.
Motor — MD-550 engine, which based on Limbach, now a Chinese company.
Electronics — off the shelf components by Western firms, which are available in exponentially larger quantities in China.
Economy of scale — don’t make me laugh.
Performance wise, while the 136 series helped turn the tide for Russia, did it really perform any more impressively than the Mugin-5? Both are slow, loud, fly low and are difficult to spot on radar. But Mugin-5 is similarly battle tested, scoring direct hits on the Black Sea Fleet head quarters despite efforts by air defense to down them. You don’t see PLA going on a massive shopping spree on Aliexpress do you?
Now let’s make an enormous leap and assume that all of the above are not true and that there is some special magic about the Iranian suicide drone that makes China want to buy them in bulk. Is Iran a reliable source for weapons? After all China does do steady military business with the Arabs, selling even strategic weapons like ballistic missiles to the House of Saud. Are they going to tolerate something like that?