The army is using drones from a Chinese company that has been sanctioned for supplying the Kremlin’s war effort in Ukraine, it has emerged.
The Ministry of Defence has purchased drones from Autel Robotics, which was last week added to the sanctions list with measures including an asset freeze.
Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, was last month seen piloting an Autel drone at an army base used to train Ukrainian recruits, alongside Jon Healey, the Defence Secretary.
The drones have also been used by police forces in Nottinghamshire and Wiltshire. All the vehicles were purchased before the sanctions were imposed.
Autel, one of the world’s biggest drone manufacturers, says its drones are not designed for military use, but they have been widely used on both sides during the war in Ukraine.
The Foreign Office took action against Autel last week as part of its largest sanctions package against Russia in over a year.
It said the company had been involved in “destabilising Ukraine or undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty or independence of Ukraine”.
The US added the company to a trade blacklist in the summer. It said that in addition to supplying Russia with drones the company had sought to “acquire US-origin items applicable to unmanned aerial vehicles to be used by Chinese military entities”.
Widely available to buy
The Ministry of Defence said it had purchased a small number of Autel drones to help train Ukrainian troops.
“No Chinese technology is used for core MoD business,” a spokesman said.
“A small number of Autel drones have been purchased to train Ukrainian recruits, primarily to replicate the threat they will face from Russian drones.
“Significant mitigation measures are in place to protect MoD personnel and equipment that include no audio or visual recording from the drones and no connecting to MoD devices.”
The MoD said it had no plans to buy more Autel drones. Its use of the vehicles was first reported by Bloomberg.
Ms Reeves was photographed piloting an Autel Evo drone last month as the Chancellor visited the Stanford Training Area in Norfolk ahead of announcing a £2.2bn loan to Ukraine.
Nottinghamshire Police announced in 2022 that it had purchased two Autel Evo II 640T drones, used for activities such as surveillance and search and rescue operations.
The drones are also widely available for consumers to purchase in the UK.
Many police forces around the UK use drones from Chinese manufacturer DJI, which has faced restrictions in the US.
Wiltshire and Nottinghamshire police forces did not respond to requests for comment.
