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How US Engines Ended Up Powering Russia’s Jet-Powered Shahed Drones
A Russian company tied to sanctioned oligarch Oleg Deripaska secretly bought American-made jet engines to study and replicate them for Moscow’s next generation of Shahed-style attack drones—revealing a clear link between US technology and Russia’s evolving drone warfare program.
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A Russian firm tied to oligarch Oleg Deripaska secretly purchased American-made jet engines to study and reproduce them for use in Moscow’s new generation of jet-powered Shahed-type drones, The Insider revealed on October 30.
According to the investigation, the sanctioned company Angar-22 LLC acquired Swiwin SW400Pro and SW240B turbojet engines—small engines typically used in model aircraft—which were then dismantled for reverse-engineering inside Russia.
Customs data reviewed by The Insider describes the imports as being intended “for research and development, disassembly and study.”
“The scale of the imports and the wording in the documents clearly show these were purchased to copy and mass-produce the technology domestically,” The Insider noted.
The purchases, worth about $300,000, were made in 2025 through Swiwin Turbojet Equipment Co. Ltd. in China, which manufactures engines under the same brand and logo as Swiwin USA.
Neutralized Russian Shahed/Geran-3 UAV. pic.twitter.com/2whYoEqMO7
— Mila.Alien 🇺🇦 (@mila__alien) September 19, 2025
Although the amount covers only a few dozen engines—far too few for full production—sources familiar with the project confirmed to The Insider that the components were used to develop local equivalents for use in Russia’s growing arsenal of jet-powered loitering munitions.
American engines, Chinese assembly, Russian drones
The Insider traced the engines to Swiwin USA, a small firm founded by American businessman Andrew Fioretti, and to its Chinese counterpart operating since 2013.
When The Insider reached out to the US company for comment about its engines appearing in Russian hands, the response was “Hey man, didn’t you know the sky is falling? Don’t look down,” a Swiwin USA representative wrote in an email, according to The Insider.
When reporters attempted to call the company, they received a text reading, “We make wonton soup.”
Following the inquiry, Swiwin USA’s “About Us” page was deleted, though The Insider preserved it in an archived version. The Chinese manufacturer, contacted separately, responded that “There are many dealer in the world, they claim Swiwin USA, Swiwin Europe … but they are all just a local dealer. The Swiwin company locate in China … that is the original company,” the reply said.
From toy engines to jet-powered drones
Investigators believe the technology served as the basis for Russia’s Shahed-238, a jet-powered version of the Iranian-designed drone also known by its Russian name Geran-3.
The Insider pointed out that a similar Swiwin SW800Pro engine was previously found in the remains of a Russian rocket-powered glide bomb (UMPB-5R) that struck the Ukrainian city of Poltava earlier this month.
The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine has published new details about the Russian “Geran-3” UAV. The “U” series model is equipped with a Chinese Telefly JT80 turbojet engine, allowing it to reach speeds of 300–370 km/h and an estimated operational range of up to 1,000 km. pic.twitter.com/ukxQKH5n1v
— Tatarigami_UA (@Tatarigami_UA) September 17, 2025
Military equipment analyst Anatoly Khrapchinsky explained to The Insider how engineers could modify model-grade engines to deliver much higher thrust suitable for combat drones:
“The engine can be boosted simply if you don’t worry about service life,” he said. “Change the control settings, raise the fuel flow, lift the safety limits, and the engine runs at maximum power—it wears out in a few hours, but that’s enough for a one-way mission.”
Deripaska connection and sanctions trail
Records from Russia’s Unified State Register of Legal Entities previously listed Angar-22 as a subsidiary of KrasKo, a holding company tied to Oleg Deripaska, one of Russia’s most influential industrial magnates.
Other entities under the same corporate umbrella include aviation and infrastructure firms with links to Russia’s state sector, The Insider notes.
The company is already under US sanctions for buying Chinese-made Limbach engines, which have also appeared in Iranian-designed Shahed drones used by Russia in Ukraine. The current ownership of Angar-22 is classified, which The Insider interprets as a sign of the project’s strategic military relevance.
Earlier, reports emerged that Russian jet-powered Shahed drones are built with critical components sourced from the United States, China, Switzerland, and several other countries.
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