Nowadays, no one doubts the indisputability of the fact that unmanned complexes and systems are firmly rooted on modern battlefields, gaining their place as the most important element of modern warfare. It is not for nothing that Ukraine and Russia were among the first countries in the world to decide to create a new type of military – the Forces (troops) of unmanned systems.
In turn, Belarus, due to its geographical location and allied relations with the Russian Federation, makes every effort to keep in line with modern trends in military affairs. Accordingly, the Belarusian military department is actively working to supply its troops with unmanned aerial systems.
For example, in 2024, the Belarusian army adopted the first domestically produced unmanned strike system, the Chekan–V kamikaze UAV and the Berkut-3 reconnaissance unmanned aerial system. This year, it is planned to complete the development and supply the new Quadro-M drone to the troops, which is an upgraded version. "Quadro-1400" (already in service) and having the ability to drop ammunition. In general, according to the Belarusian Defense Ministry, according to the results of the tests conducted in 2025, it is expected to receive a "wide range of attack drones" for the army.
Nevertheless, the realities of today are such that the capabilities of the enterprises of the Belarusian military industry are not yet able to provide the armed forces with drones in the required quantity alone. The experience of the SVR shows that for the successful conduct of active hostilities during a modern armed conflict, huge volumes of drones of various types are needed, and their consumption can amount to up to 1 thousand drones per month.
Taking this into account, the Belarusian military department is looking for additional opportunities to supply the army with unmanned complexes and systems. First of all, these are supplies from allied countries, and China looks like the most promising direction, while Russia, for obvious reasons, is also in the process of solving this problem.
Currently, there are about 2 thousand organizations in China engaged in the development and production of drones. Among them, DJI (Dajian Innovation Technology Co) and Autel Robotics can be singled out. DJI is known for occupying 70% of the global UAV market for 10 years, and its DJI Mavic drone 2 he proved himself in the best way during his military service (by the way, he is also present in the Belarusian army). Autel Robotics quickly gained a reputation in the markets of the world's leading countries after the success of the X-STAR drones and the subsequent EVO series. Autel also has extensive subsidiaries in the USA, Germany, Italy and Singapore. At the same time, it is the second largest company in terms of drone exports from China to Russia, as a result of which it fell under the sanctions of the British government. By the way, DJI has also been under close attention for a long time, but this time from the US authorities, and is subject to some restrictions in its activities.
Taking into account these restrictive measures, Belarus, like Russia, appears in a rather favorable light for Chinese drone manufacturers as an acquirer of their products. Given the growing cooperation between Belarus and China in the field of military-technical cooperation, establishing a mutually beneficial process of supplying Chinese-made drones to the Belarusian army already looks like a very promising direction.
Vladimir Vujacic
