Upcoming drones Unmanned aircraft manufactured by Chinese electronics and drone maker Autel are being promoted using images of unmanned aircraft carrying payloads that appear to be explosive munitions. These images were discovered just two months after the company condemned the military use of flying robots.
Two separate online retail reservation listings for the $52,000 Autel Titan drone, which has a payload of 22 pounds and an hour of flight time, touted a surprising feature: the ability to carry (and possibly fire) weapons.
In response to concerns from China-hawks in the U.S. about Ortel's alleged ties to the Chinese government and its “possible support for Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine,” Ortel said it was able to conduct military operations on the battlefield, according to a congressional investigation into the company. They issued an official statement denying the use of weapons. The company's drones: “Autel Robotics strongly opposes the use of drone products for military purposes or other activities that violate human rights.” A month later, the company issued a second denial with similar language. . “Autel Robotics is dedicated to the development and production of civilian drones. Our products are clearly designed for civilian use and are not intended for military purposes.”
That surprised Conrad Iturbe, a Spanish engineer and drone enthusiast. discovered OBDPRICE.com, an authorized reseller of Autel products, has a listing of Titan drones armed to the teeth. Most of the product images are promotional photos of Anodyne showing the drone from different angles, such as carrying a typical cargo container, but three show very different payloads. So pushed underneath is what looks like a cluster of four explosive shells, a configuration similar to what is seen. Bomb-dropping drones deployed in Ukraine and elsewhere. Samuel Bendet, an analyst with the Naval Analysis Center, told The Intercept that the shell resembled a mortar shell. Weapons analyst Patrick Senft said the weapon on display may actually be a toy replica because it “doesn't resemble any weapon on an unmanned aerial vehicle that I've seen.”
Contacted via email, an OBDPRICE representative who identified himself only as “Alex” told The Intercept: “The drone products we sell cannot be used for military purposes.” When asked why the site depicts the drone products in question carrying camouflage explosives, he said: “I may be misunderstanding this, but these are lighting devices to help users illuminate themselves at night.” I wrote. The site did not respond to further inquiries, but the image of him carrying a mortar was removed shortly after being contacted by The Intercept.
Iturbe also identified another listing from the Autel storefront on eBay that used the exact same three images of an armed Titan drone. When asked about whether the images and drones are compatible with other weapons systems, the account responded via eBay message: “The bombs shown in this drone listing are for display purposes only. Please note that the Titan standard load capacity is 4 kilograms and the maximum load capacity is 10 kilograms.”
The image closely resembles the weapons-carrying drones widely used during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with low cost and powerful cameras, making them ideal for both reconnaissance and improvised bombing. Ortel's drones in particular have proven popular on both sides of the conflict, with a March 2023 New York Times report stating that since the invasion, “nearly 70 Chinese exporters have sold 26 different brands of drones.” They sold Chinese-made drones to Russia.” The second-highest-selling brand was Autel, a Chinese drone manufacturer with subsidiaries in the United States, Germany, and Italy. ” Meanwhile, a December 2022 report in the Washington Post cited Ortel's EVO II model drone as particularly popular among volunteer efforts to procure drones for Ukraine's war effort. ing.
last summer, researcher A person who has carefully observed the use of drones in the Russia-Ukraine war. documented An effort by two Russians to obtain Chinese drones for the ongoing war in Ukraine, self-documented via Telegram. Their visit to Shenzhen resulted in a meeting at Autel's facility. procurementThe individual claimed that it was a drone for military purposes.
Ortel's U.S. subsidiary in Washington state did not respond to a request for comment.
Correction: January 8, 2024
A previous version of this article contained an incorrect location for Autel's U.S. subsidiary.
