In mid-October, several photos circulated on Twitter that appeared to show Austrian Rotax engines inside downed military drones allegedly made by Iran, including one Position by Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, who said the drone was shot down over the Black Sea. “We confirm that, with the cooperation of a partner in Ukraine and the help of local authorities, we have located the engine found in the downed Mohajer-6 aircraft,” said BRP-Rotax spokeswoman Biliana Necheva. The Iranian Mohajer-6 drone shot down over the Black Sea in October had Rotax engines Rotax has announced that it is launching an investigation: pic.twitter.com/K5RKMiDZrY —@Gerashchenko_en The engine in question was likely a Rotax 912 engine, used primarily by hobbyists in both light aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles. Experts say civilian aircraft engines like these are popular for use in unauthorized military equipment because they are cheap and easy to retrofit. Because they are designed for civilians, the engines may also be subject to fewer export controls than components intended specifically for military use. Earlier this month, Iran acknowledged this sold drones to Russiamonths before the war in Ukraine. BRP-Rotax said in its statement that it launched an investigation to determine the source of the engines immediately after being informed of the situation. Rotax is an Austrian subsidiary owned by BRP. The company said its investigation also confirmed it “acted in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.” This case is not the first time unauthorized use of BRP technology has been reported. In 2020, BRP-Rotax suspended the delivery of its products to countries with unclear use after a similar Rotax engine appeared on a Turkish drone used in Nagorno-Karabakh. Technology similar to that found in BRP’s Sea-Doo was found in Ukraine earlier this month, powering a marine drone. A drone approaches to attack Kyiv on October 17. Russia used drones during its invasion of Ukraine to target power plants and civilian infrastructure. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images)
Engines are cheap to retrofit, the expert says
According to a list maintained by BRP-Rotax, over 150 engines have been stolen from 1996 to 2021. Two of the most targeted models are variants of the 912 or 914 engine, according to the listing. BRP-Rotax said it is not aware of any recent increase or increase in engine theft. Jeremy Laliberte, an aerospace engineer and professor at Carleton University, says it’s not unusual for engines like these to be found in unauthorized military equipment. “There’s nothing really too special about the engines,” Laliberte said. “They happen to have a military application, but their performance is nothing spectacular. They’re not supersonic, they’re not stealthy, there’s really nothing exotic about them.” He said what might appeal to those converting the engines for military use is their quality and price, as they are likely to be cheaper than military-grade engines.
Set up dual-use products
BRP-Rotax said their engines are not designed for military purposes and are “not listed as dual-use items.” However, according to experts such as Laliberte, these engines can still be classified as “dual-use” products. These are items that, while intended for civilians, can easily be retrofitted for military use. The Government of Canada describes dual-use goods that have “the potential to be used or modified for the production of weapons and military items”. Some dual-use goods are controlled by both Canadian exports checklistsand the European Union (EU) checklists when they have clearly demarcated military uses. While the Rotax engine is a dual-use item, it is not designated as a military use item. In a statement to the CBC, Global Affairs Canada said Canada is closely monitoring the BRP investigation and that “the combination of export controls and the extensive Canadian and UN sanctions already in place against Iran severely restricts both imports and and exports”. WATCHES | Iran’s drones are a problem beyond Ukraine, says expert:
Iranian drones ‘become a threat beyond Ukraine’, military expert says
Marina Miron, Research Fellow at The Center for Military Ethics in London, reveals Russia’s recent use of Iranian-made drones in Ukraine this week and what’s to come. Experts agree that since the engines were made in Austria, they do not fall under Canadian export regulations, but instead under EU-listed export controls. “The current set of EU sanctions is not explicitly clear when it comes to engines like the Rotax 912 engine,” said Austrian Labor and Economy Ministry spokeswoman Alexandra Perl. The ministry noted that not all dual-use items are included under EU sanctions. Items that could be used for both civilian and military purposes could include a wide range of products, such as cars and smartphones, which creates challenges for regulation. “It would be logistically impossible and inefficient to require a license to export such common household items to non-sanctioned countries,” Perl said. In countries subject to sanctions or arms embargoes, such as Russia, the export control list includes a wider range of military and civilian dual-use items. As a result, the ministry said that exporting these dual-use items from Austria to Russia would be illegal, but that exporting from Austria to Iran would be legal. He said that as far as he knows, no Rotax 912 engine has been exported from Austria to Iran in the past five years. The ministry also said the engines may never have been exported from the EU to Iran and could have been “exported to another third country under the false pretense that they are to be used for political purposes and then could have been illegally diverted (resold ) to entities in Iran’. A Ukrainian soldier stands next to a Russian drone that was shot down in northwestern Kyiv following a drone strike in March. Experts say civilian drone engines are popular for use in unauthorized military equipment because they are cheap and easily retrofitted. (Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images)
Experts want strengthened regulations, monitoring methods
Experts suggested a multi-pronged approach between governments, companies, their subsidiaries and their consumers to ensure that dual-use items do not appear on unauthorized military equipment. Laliberte pointed to the regulation of commercial aircraft, where he said regulations are stronger. “Individual parts are identified, a lot of effort is put into preventing counterfeit parts from being removed and parts from leaving the supply chain and entering other applications,” said Laliberte. “That’s probably where these other areas of aviation can adopt some practices.” Mark Bromley is Director of the Dual Use and Arms Trade Control Program at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. As the defense sector increasingly uses civilian technologies in its weapons systems, the challenges of trying to draw a clear line around the defense sector will be even greater.- Mark Bromley, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute He said the integration of civilian technology into military systems creates enormous control challenges, something seen in the war in Ukraine. “As the defense sector increasingly uses civilian technologies in its weapons systems, the challenges of trying to draw a clear line around the defense sector will be even greater,” he said. “What can we possibly do, beyond export controls, to try to track these types of shipments, identify the kind of diversion points as they happen and then cut them off?” WATCHES | The role of drones in Ukraine’s fight against Russia:
How Ukraine Built a ‘Drone Army’ to Fight Russia
To counter Russia’s massive military might, Ukraine has built an army of drones, turning everyday aerial vehicles into military weapons that have helped change the tide of that war. Bromley said companies should know both their direct customers and their third-party customers and should also require the wholesalers they supply to track their buyers. “Even if hard law requirements in the area of export controls do not apply, companies still have soft law obligations under the UN Guiding Principles on Business for Human Rights.”
