A modem from a Russian drone led reporters to its Chinese maker—which invoiced 500 for Russia’s drone plant

Undercover reporters in Ukraine ordered 500 mesh modems from a Chinese firm, which then billed the payments to Russia's Alabuga drone plant, according to an investigation by The Insider. The outlet estimates that the firm produces around half of the high-power mesh modems that enable Russia to send its drones deep into Ukraine. The company's director identified US company AMD as the source of a crucial chip, but AMD claims it has not sold to the firm.

Russia initiated a strike campaign against Ukraine's energy grid with Geran drones and Banderol drone-missiles in late September, as assessed by ISW. The survival of Ukrainians this winter is largely dependent on the West halting sales of mesh modems to Russia. Mesh modems enable drones to be linked into a single radio network, allowing data to be relayed, so even if many drones are shot down, communication can still flow.

The range of one modem is between 100-300 km, allowing a few relay drones to keep a larger attack on Kyiv connected. These modems are increasingly being installed in Gerbera drones, which were initially built as cheap decoys. The Insider traced the modem to Xingkai's XK F-359 model, which had been misidentified as XK-F358. The Insider contacted Xingkai through WeChat, posing as a Russian military supplier based in Alabuga, and spoke to Jiang Qin, who confirmed that the company is the sole manufacturer of the modem.

Jiang invoiced about $2.87 million for the 500 modems, offering payment via dollars or yuan. The Insider received a revised invoice addressed to Alabuga, routing the payment to a former Xingkai manager's account at China Merchants Bank. AMD stated that Xingkai is not an authorized customer or partner, and has not exported any products to Russia that violate US export controls and sanctions.