The drone flew in from the occupied part of the Lugansk region, and experts identified it as a Mugin-5 model. It didn’t have a camera, but it did have a bomb.
The Ukrainian military shot down a modernized Chinese-made Mugin-5 drone near Slovyansk, Donetsk region. This became known to the American television channel CNN, whose correspondent visited the scene.
How APU shot down Mugin-5 near Slavyansk
On Saturday night, March 11, the SBU warned military units near Slovyansk about launching a drone from the temporarily occupied part of the Luhansk region. Soldiers of the 111th Territorial Defense Brigade of Ukraine soon heard the sound of an engine in the sky and noticed flickering lights at low altitude, after which they opened fire on the target with a Kalashnikov assault rifle and successfully shot it down.
At the crash site, the military found a drone that was identified as the Chinese commercial model Mugin-5, which is sold on the Alibaba and Taobao online stores for about $10,000. Manufacturing company Mugin Limited confirmed to CNN that it was their product that was shot down in Ukraine.
The wreckage of a Chinese-made Mugin-5 drone near Slavyansk
Photo: Screenshot
In the downed drone, they noticed a hole from a bullet that pierced the nose of the hull, which received significant damage. A bomb weighing about 20 kg was lying on the ground next to Mugin, which was later detonated in the middle of the forest to disarm it.
“Dumb bomb”: what experts say about the downed Mugin-5
Experts noticed that the Russians modified a commercial drone, remaking it for strikes. The head of the consulting company Armament Research Services and weapons specialist N. R. Yentsen-Jones drew attention to the ammunition release mechanism, probably made from parts printed on a 3D printer. In his opinion, in this case, the Mugin-5 was used as a bomber, and not a kamikaze drone, equipping it with simple high-explosive fragmentation shells with poor aerodynamics.
“During the conflict, both Russia and Ukraine used commercially available Chinese platforms such as this one, including for military purposes,” Yentzen-Jones added.
CNN noted that in January militants from the so-called “LPR” claimed to have shot down a Mugin-5 launched by Ukrainian forces. Ukrainian officials have not confirmed this information.
Retired British officer and drone specialist Chris Lincoln-Jones noted that the downed Mugin-5 did not have optical equipment, so it could not be used for surveillance. In his opinion, the drone served as a “dumb bomb” for the military, but would be much more effective with a good camera. The expert believes the drone is another proof that Russia is not the military superpower that it claims to be.
“It seems that this is a very rude, unsophisticated, not very technological way of conducting operations. Ukrainians need to do everything in their power, use more handicraft weapons,” he said.
Manufacturers comments
A spokesman for Mugin Limited, in a comment to CNN, said that he does not approve of the use of their drones for military purposes and is taking steps to prevent this. In addition, on March 2, the company announced on its website that it had stopped selling its products to Ukraine and Russia at the beginning of a full-scale war.
CNN also contacted several other companies whose components were found in the downed Mugin-5. Taiwanese company MKS has acknowledged that some manufacturers may use its servos when assembling UAVs for military purposes, although it itself denounces this approach. The MKS website notes that the products are not to be used for military or illegal purposes.
Among the details, they also found a sensor from Novatel, a member of the Hexagon group from Canada. It supplies electronics for agriculture, construction and automobiles. A Novatel spokesman said the company has “extensive control processes” in place to ensure that its products are exported legally.
“In April 2022, we decided to freeze all activities in Russia,” he added.
Earlier they wrote that the commercial drone Mugin-5 could attack the Crimea. In the summer, the Russians found an aircraft in the Saki region, where the invaders’ airbase is located. The experts concluded that although the model was not originally designed for combat purposes, they can be used for bombing due to different payload configurations.
