Engines made by Rotax of Gunskirchen in Upper Austria are at the center of a bizarre series of thefts that are now making British secret services think: More than 130 Rotax 912 four-strokes were stolen from parked planes in several countries last year, most of them in Britain and Germany. The engines, weighing 100 kilograms, were always carefully unscrewed from the aircraft and carried away secretly…
For the most part, engines with a long remaining life were stolen. What initially seemed a curiosity has now aroused the interest of the British secret service: the engines are not only installed in small civilian aircraft, but also in reconnaissance and combat drones.
Also installed in Iranian combat drones
The US uses them for their “Predator” planes, Turkey for their “TB2”, which also fly over Ukraine (Krone reported). And even Iran, which is subject to severe sanctions, is secretly installing Rotax in its Mohajer-6 drones, according to the latest photos. These were last delivered to Russia and took an active part in the fighting.
Will probably end up on the black market
This completes the circle, writes the American journalist Howard Altman: A number of the stolen Rotax engines are said to be destined for the black market and therefore specifically for Iran. The country has a strong underground network that allows it to evade sanctions. Rotax itself has been criticized for years for not precisely controlling global sales of its engines. According to a press statement, the situation with the Iranian drones is being taken “very seriously” and there are no deliveries to Iran, the company said in an earlier conversation with “Krone”. According to research by “Bild”, engines should have reached Iran through Italian intermediaries by the end of 2020.
Hardly any restrictions on the export of four-stroke engines
In fact, the internal combustion engines powered by commercially available Super 95 are hardly restricted. They are not war goods and are not marked as dual use goods. And they are mass-produced: the global market leader in Upper Austria has sold nearly 200,000 of its drives to civilian dealers around the world over the past 40 years. According to experts, it is actually difficult to control which of these are being secretly resold, stolen or copied.
However, on Thursday night, Russian drones struck again in the area around Kiev and in southern Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy deplored the “unprecedented attack on his country’s energy supply” and again warned the population of impending power cuts.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
