RUSI: Despite the sanctions, Russia continues to buy electronics for weapons

Russia continues to buy imported components for its weapons, despite sanctions.

This is written by the "Important Histories" publication with reference to the report of experts of the Royal United Services Institute of Great Britain (RUSI).

RUSI specialists examined the Russian weapons found in Ukraine and found at least 450 types of components that were produced in the West — in the USA, Japan, Switzerland, Great Britain, and other countries.

70% of the foreign components that RUSI found in Russian weapons were made in the US. Some of them were produced after the sanctions imposed against Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine in 2014. For example, the components of the Kalibr cruise missile, which experts discovered on the territory of Ukraine, were made in 2018 and 2019.

The Russian Orlan-10 multi-purpose unmanned aerial vehicle includes a Sony camera on a gimbal with an American Hextronik electric motor and a control system based on a microcontroller from the Swiss company STMicroelectronics, and equipped with an engine from the Japanese company Saito Seisakusho. The drone transmits a signal to the radio communication complex "Aqueduct" which contains more than ten components produced by Western companies, such as a microcontroller from the American company Analog Devices and a digital signal processor manufactured by the American Texas Instruments. "Aqueduct", in its turn, transmits information to the Tornado-S salvo fire system, the rocket of which contains elements critical for navigation, produced by the American companies Altera Corporation and Cypress Semiconductor.

The report emphasizes that there is a whole network of suppliers and sellers in East Asia and other countries who are ready to supply such components to Russia.

After the invasion, the US and other countries banned high-tech exports to Russia, and technology companies announced a halt to all exports. Nevertheless, RUSI experts found that the flow of components from Western brands to Russia has not stopped.

Many mass-produced electronic components are still not subject to export controls. In addition, there is a whole network of suppliers and sellers in East Asia and other countries who are ready to supply such components to Russia. Russian customs data reviewed by Reuters show that between the beginning of the invasion and the end of May, more than 15,000 shipments of Western electronic components were delivered to Russia.