US defense firm fights ‘Made in China’ engine claim on new cruise missile

Controversy has erupted regarding whether Mach Industries, a U.S. defense contractor, could be using Chinese jet technology for at least one of its products. This claim follows a recent promotional video on social media, its latest vertical take-off cruise missile - "Viper".

The video was published on March 5, and soon after allegations began to appear, the weapon system seemed to be powered using what appeared to be very similar to a Chinese-made Swiwin SW800 Pro engine.

In the video, the missile system can be seen taking off vertically before diving toward a target, much the same way a kamikaze drone operates. The video also highlighted that the missile is primarily 3D-printed.

Company representatives have since denied such claims. On March 6, the company's founder responded to the claims in the strongest terms. “A few people have mentioned the engine, so I figured I’d touch on it. The Viper ships with a JetCat; there are no Chinese components on any of our airframes,” he wrote in a social media post.

Does Mach Industries use Chinese engines?

Ethan Thornton founded Mach Industries in 2022. Since then, this next-generation defense technology and manufacturing company has been making headlines.

Just one day before the video’s release, the company announced that it had been selected by the Army Applications Laboratory to develop a vertical take-off precision cruise missile dubbed “Strategic Strike."

According to Mach Industries, its strategic strike cruise missile boasts a range of 180 miles (290 km) and can carry a warhead exceeding 22 pounds (10kg). It also reported that AI-powered visual recognition and radio frequency (RF) sensing technologies benefit the system.

As comments continued comparing the JetCat engine with the Swiwin SW800 Pro, he replied, "As for the airframe in the video, we feel comfortable blowing up Chinese components for testing purposes.”

Interestingly, since the controversy, some of Thornton's social media accounts, like X, have since been either deleted or locked.

It is possible that the missile is still in its early stages of development, with the primary goal of testing its aerodynamic design rather than its propulsion system. In such a case, Mach Industries could have used an off-the-shelf civilian engine to reduce costs. However, this cannot be verified at the time of writing.

If the claims are true, this raises questions about U.S. and Chinese restrictions on military tech imports and exports. China, for its part, has banned the export of structural components, engines, and related manufacturing technologies, including gas turbine engines, since May 2024.

Yet despite these restrictions, Mach Industries may have been able to acquire a Swiwin SW800 Pro and import it. This engine is currently available online for 128,000 yuan (US$17,600).

How did they get it?

It is essential to note that Swiwin Turbine, the manufacturer based in China’s Hebei province, specializes in small-scale aviation engines for applications such as model aircraft and personal flying devices.

“Since the engine does not fall under China’s military-use category, export bans have not affected it. The SW800 Pro was showcased at the Zhuhai Airshow last year,” a Swiwin spokesperson said in response to the claims.

If Mach Industries did manage to acquire the engine through a third-party supplier for military development, it would indicate that China’s export controls may not be as effective as intended.

At the same time, the enforcement of the U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations, which prohibit the integration of foreign components that pose potential supply chain risks into US military equipment, may also be lacking in strictness.