Chinese UAV Components Manufacturer Buys Stake in Russian Drone Maker

A Chinese supplier of drone parts has quietly become a co-owner of Russia’s leading FPV drone manufacturer Rustact.

This is according to corporate filings obtained by the Financial Times. The documents show Shenzhen businessman Wang Dinghua acquired 5% of Rustact, the producer of the VT-40 FPV drone used extensively on the battlefield.

The filings, submitted in September, were deleted from Russian corporate registries one day after journalists accessed them, along with related ownership data from private databases. Before the removal, Rustact was listed as 95% owned by Russian businessman Pavel Nikitin.

Customs data reviewed by the publication shows that companies controlled by Wang, including Shenzhen Minghuaxin, had already become major suppliers to Rustact. Since mid-2023, Rustact imported $110 million in lithium-ion batteries, $87 million in motors, and $64 million in controllers from Minghuaxin. A related Russian entity, Zavod Santex, imported an additional $66 million in controllers and $37 million in DC motors.

In total, Minghuaxin supplied $304 million in components to Rustact and $107 million to Santex, positioning Chinese firms at the center of Russia’s FPV drone production chain.

Corporate links between the two sides appear to extend further. Chinese records show Wang owns 10% of Shenzhen Nasmin Investment, while the remaining 90% is controlled by Yegor Nikitin, a Belarusian. Pavel previously worked at Santex and served as a shareholder before being replaced by Yegor.

Rustact filings also show the company imported manufacturing equipment from China, including metal-cutting machines and plastic injection molding systems supplied by Shenzhen Kiosk Electronic, another firm where Wang holds a controlling stake.

Rustact is listed as a participant in Russia’s “Doomsday” project and was the country’s largest importer of FPV drone components between July 2023 and February 2025.

A former Ukrainian officer with Frontelligence Insight said the VT-40 has been continuously upgraded. “Since the drone appeared on the battlefield in 2023, it has undergone several upgrades aimed at increasing its resistance to electronic warfare and improving its control systems,” he was quoted as saying by Militarnyi. “Its mass production, low cost, and availability make it a stable ‘workhorse’ of Russian forces.”