The Indian Army (IA) is reportedly set to field the Berkut-BM jet-powered kamikaze drone developed by the Indela company in Belarus, according to Defence-Blog.
Interestingly, the drone is reportedly powered by a micro turbojet engine developed by the Chinese company Swiwin.
Swiwin Turbojet Equipment Co., Ltd. specializes in the research, development, and production of small-scale turbojet engines and related accessories.
Their products, such as the SW800 Pro and SW400 Pro models, are primarily used in hobbyist applications like model aircraft and personal flying devices, though they have appeared in military-related contexts in recent reports.
China has now placed export restrictions on the sale of the company’s engines.
It is possible that either Russia or Belarus is now locally manufacturing Swiwin engines. Recently, fragments of an SW800 Pro jet engine were found among the debris of a Russian UMPB-5R jet-powered glide bomb in Ukraine. Microjet-powered Russian glide bombs are now reportedly able to strike targets at ranges of 120 to 150 km.
Indian Purchase
According to Defence-Blog, the IA has acquired dozens of Berkut-BM drones.
Białoruś opracowała najnowszego „domowego” drona UAV, który okazał się być wyposażony w chiński silnik odrzutowy Swiwin SW300B, który można kupić na AliExpress za 5846 USD. I wisienka - na opublikowanych zdjęciach rozdają zautomatyzowany cel powietrzny "Berkut-BM" dla "Rozjemcy" pic.twitter.com/UPL9UznIrQ
— Marcin K | Forza Robert Kubica | F1 (@Jona_Mar78) October 21, 2022
The catapult-launched drones have an operational range of around 150 km and can attain speeds in excess of 400 km/h. They feature a 10 kg HE fragmentation warhead designed to damage non-armoured surface targets such as radar installations, missile batteries, artillery positions, and logistics nodes.
If the Berkut-BM acquisition report is accurate, the drone will be the first jet-powered kamikaze drone in the IA’s inventory.
Belarus has previously exported the Berkut-BM to several countries and armed groups, including Russia, Venezuela, Algeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces militia.
Whether the microjet powering the Berkut-BM being acquired by the IA is manufactured in China or outside China—in Russia or Belarus—is largely moot, as the engine is disposable and requires no maintenance or spare-part replacement. As such, the acquisition is entirely in order.
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