Chinese Company Buys Stake in Leading Russian FPV-Drone Maker

A Chinese company that supplies drone components has become a co-owner of Rustakt, a leading Russian manufacturer of FPV drones and the producer of the VT-40 FPV drone.

The Financial Times reported on this.

According to corporate filings submitted in September and uncovered by the publication, Chinese entrepreneur Wang Dinghua is listed as the new owner of 5 percent of Rustakt’s shares.

Shenzhen Minghuaxin and other companies owned by Wang, a businessman from the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, are major suppliers of components for the production of drones for Rustakt and its affiliated companies.

The very next day after journalists gained access to it, all records concerning Rustakt’s ownership structure were concealed and removed from official corporate registries in Russia. Information about the transfer of the stake was also deleted from private corporate databases.

Deep cooperation

At the time the information was removed, it indicated that the company was 95 percent owned by businessman Pavlo Nikitin. An analysis of Russian customs data shows that Minghuaxin supplied components worth $304 million to Rustakt, as well as goods worth $107 million to the affiliated Russian company Santex Plant.

According to customs records, since mid-2023 Rustakt has purchased $110 million worth of lithium-ion batteries, $87 million worth of engines, and $64 million worth of controllers from Minghuaxin. Santex purchased $66 million worth of controllers and $37 million worth of DC motors.

Nikitin previously worked at Santex and was a shareholder there until he was replaced as head of the company by a Belarusian named Yegor Nikitin. According to Russian registries, Yegor and Pavlo share the same surname, patronymic, and date of birth.

Corporate documents of Chinese companies show that Wang Dinghua owns 10 percent of the shares of the Chinese company Shenzhen Nasmin Investment. The remaining 90 percent belongs to Yegor.

According to Rustakt’s filings with Russian regulators, the company also purchased manufacturing equipment from China. It received certificates for the import of metal-cutting machines and plastic injection-molding equipment. The equipment was supplied by Shenzhen Kiosk Electronic — Chinese registries indicate that a controlling stake in the company also belongs to Wang.

It is known that Rustakt is a participant in the Russian ‘Judgment Day’ project and was the largest importer of FPV-drone components in Russia from July 2023 to February 2025.

“Since the drone first appeared on the battlefield in 2023, it has undergone several upgrades aimed at improving resistance to electronic warfare and enhancing control systems,” he said. “Although it does not stand out in any single characteristic, mass production, low cost, and availability make it a reliable ‘workhorse’ for Russian forces,” said a former Ukrainian officer who works with the analytical group Frontelligence Insight.