Chinese Shahed-like drones offered online despite Alibaba ban

Adrian Bogdan

As Iran bombards Middle Eastern countries with swarms of suicide drones, unmanned aerial systems (UAS), similar to those used in war can be found for sale online, sometimes marked as “model planes.”Chinese e-commerce site Alibaba features multiple listings for drones, which are categorized for commercial use, yet carry an uncanny resemblance to the Iranian Shahed-136 suicide drone. Shahed-136 drones carry a warhead of up to 90 kilograms and fly in swarms before crashing into their targets.