Iranian drone Mohajer-6, downed in Ukraine, has an Austrian engine – Rotax

The Iranian Mohajer-6 drone, which the Ukrainian army shot down near Odesa, is equipped with a foreign-made engine. It turned out that the drone engine was manufactured by a well-known Austrian company Rotax.

This information was first shared by Ukrainian military journalist Andriy Tsaplienko. He described these findings with the expression: “Nothing personal, just business”. It was republished by many global news websites.

Iranian drone engine was manufactured by the Austrian company Rotax

It is known that Rotax is controlled by the Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier. Interestingly, Rotax 912 engines are also supplied to Baykar Makina for Bayraktar TB2 drones, which help the Armed Forces of Ukraine to destroy the Russian invaders.

The Canadian company Bombardier Recreational Products is known for designing the engines that power watercraft, motorcycles, aircraft, and a significant number of unmanned aerial vehicles. Perhaps most famously, Rotax aviation engines are known to power General Atomics’ MQ-1 Predator and Israel’s Heron drones.

Rotax confirmed that it was its engine

Rotax acknowledged that the drone’s engine was one of its own and declared the start of its inquiry since its distributors “have not been approved and have not been given any authority to supply military UAV manufacturers in Iran or Russia.”

The company said in a statement that “Rotax aircraft engines are produced, engineered, and certified for civil use solely by the applicable civil regulatory authority.”

“We have been made aware of the alleged use of Rotax engines, or counterfeit engines, in  certain specific situations involving Iranian Mohajer-6 drones in the conflict areas. We are taking this situation very seriously”, the statement reads.

Parts from American, Chinese, and Japanese manufacturers found in the drone

From the debris of downed drones, parts from American, Chinese, and Japanese manufacturers have also been found.

Earlier, Ukrainian intelligence disassembled the downed Russian Iranian-made Mohajer-6 drone. Not surprisingly, the manufacturer carefully tried to hide the country of manufacture of the drone. The experts noted that the drone was manufactured in February 2022, and it was probably one of its first flights.

Ukrainian air defense forces have landed less than 5 Mohajer-6s so far, but Russia rarely uses them. According to preliminary estimates, the invading forces have only 20 of them.

Earlier, South Korean and Malaysian microprocessors that were purchased in violation of restrictions were discovered in the Iranian-made Shahed-136 kamikaze drones. The Russian military uses both drones in its war against Ukraine.

Iran claims that it did not give its weapons to Russia, although there is plenty of proof from Ukraine that contradicts this claim.

Read also: Use of Iranian drones by Russia shows its military weakness – experts

What do we know about the Mohajer-6 drone?

This drone has a maximum take-off weight of 600 kilograms, a payload of 100 kilograms, and a flight range of 200 kilometers. It has a maximum speed of 200 kilometers per hour, a flight duration of 12 hours, and a maximum flight altitude of 5400 meters.