Statement on false information about PBS engines
Recent reports in Ukrainian, Czech and other international media have spread misinformation that the Iranian Shahed-238 drone, used by Russia in airstrikes against Ukraine, is powered by a PBS jet engine.
Based on photographs of debris from one of the drones, some media have speculated that a PBS TJ150 turbojet engine may power the drone.
PBS has reliably refuted these claims.
In 2020, after Iranian drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, it was confirmed that Iranian-made engines are visually similar to PBS engines but are not manufactured by PBS. This was officially confirmed by the UN Panel of Experts in a publicly available report.
The allegations in the Ukrainian media outlet Defense Express article are not a mistake but a deliberate attack on PBS. PBS supplies engines for the defense of Ukraine, and these attacks aim to damage PBS's credibility with Western customers, which is in the interest of the Russian intelligence network.
We categorically deny any involvement in this case. No evidence suggests that the PBS engine is used in the Shahed-238 drone.
An article published on February 8, 2024, in the well-respected Czech newspaper Hospodarske Noviny quotes an unnamed source from the Czech security community as saying that the engine is not Czech-made. The source suggests the allegations may be part of an effort to discredit Czech arms supplies, including PBS supplies, to Ukraine.