Concerns raised over Shahed kamikaze drone listings on Alibaba

[Kurokage]

https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-indust...-ships-etc
 

Concerns raised over Shahed kamikaze drone listings on Alibaba — they featured AI guidance to lock onto ‘people, building, vehicles, ships, etc’

Alibaba has removed the listings that were highlighted by ABC news.



 Chinese eTail giant Alibaba has removed listings and suspended the accounts of sellers that were found to be advertising “cruise missiles” and “suicide attack drones.” Australia’s ABC News uncovered the concerning sales of several one-way attack drone models, some of which looked strikingly similar to the Iranian Shahed design, others with a cruise missile profile.
The Alibaba “commercial” listings touted the drones as “pesticide sprayers,” or for “aerial mapping”. However, ABC dug into the product catalogs to confirm the Shahed-a-likes were “suicide attack drones” capable of carrying 2kg (4.41 pound) warheads for distances up to 100km. Moreover, with their thermal imaging and AI guidance, these devices could "achieve autonomous locking of targets (people, building, vehicles, ships, etc.)”
 These kamikaze drones would not be casual impulse buys. ABC reports that the listing prices of the cruise missile style drones were approaching $50,000. If that sum was reported in Australian dollars, it equates to approximately USD $35,000.

ABC continued to look closely through the various supplier catalogs it found from the Alibaba suppliers. One of the China-based suppliers offered five kinds of "suicide attack drones" with two having near identical dimensions and specs to the Iranian-made Shahed 136, says the news report

 
Is the delivery what you expected?Importantly, just because these kamikaze drone adverts exist, it doesn’t mean that the advertisers would actually ship these exact products.

We reported on overclocking expert De8auer falling victim to fake metal exporters on Alibaba recently. That transaction meant €40,000 down the drain, and orders delayed. Who knows what you would have got if you ordered a Shahed-a-like before the listing was removed? We’d imagine it would be difficult to complain and get any recompense from a Shahed lost in the post, or after receiving a tiny replica, or another scam item.

I just came across this 'interesting' article.

Though it could possibly be a fake sale to con some gullible buyer, it's interesting that a company in China could be selling these drones to the highest bidder.
After the investigation the sale has since been removed from the Alibaba site, but who knows if any where sold?  And what other 'goodies' are available to purchased on the internet without having to venture in to the seedy areas of the net??.

[BeyondKnowledge]

There have been drones that have following capabilities for years for videoing. The only difference for attacking is programming what it does. 

Technically any decent size radio control airplane can be used to attack someone and the bigger ones are sometimes designed to carry and drop bombs. 

As far as specifically sold as weapons, that is kind of new but it has been done before. Some farming drones have been sold that have small guns in them for chasing off predators.

It all goes back to the person operating them rather than they exist and are sold that is the real problem.

[Kurokage]

There have been drones that have following capabilities for years for videoing. The only difference for attacking is programming what it does. 

Technically any decent size radio control airplane can be used to attack someone and the bigger ones are sometimes designed to carry and drop bombs. 

As far as specifically sold as weapons, that is kind of new but it has been done before. Some farming drones have been sold that have small guns in them for chasing off predators.

It all goes back to the person operating them rather than they exist and are sold that is the real problem.

The article lists them as actual Iranian designed Shahed drones. The ones being flown all over the middle east by Iran and flown over Ukraine by Russia.

[BeyondKnowledge]

The article lists them actual Iranian designed Shahed drones. The ones being flown all over the middle east by Iran and flown over Ukraine by Russia.

Are they actually any different than any other weaponed commercial drones? The ones for sale, not the military ones. I am certain that the ones for sale are just cheap knockoffs of the military ones or empty weighted boxes.

I found myself for sale once on alibaba. Well, my inflatable dinosaur costume that I made. I am certain they were trying to sell a knockoff as mine is still in my possession. I only know of one other and it is made different internally.

I don't think any seller would worry about the buyer complaining because the authorities would be investigating the buyer for purchasing a weaponized drone. 

Buyer be ware, in this case especially.

[Kwaka]

Production must be cranking and supply good to try putting it on Alibaba. There are other places to go for buyers into that kind of stuff. Got a couple of idiots new to the job and told, sell these.