Nearly all complex electronics used in Russian artillery systems are imported from other countries, a representative of the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said at a briefing on February 9, 2023, Suspilne reported.
“More complex than resistors”
“Practically all complex electronics serving Russian artillerymen are imported,” said Andrii Rudyk of the General Staff’s centre for research of captured and advanced weapons. “The Russian military-industrial complex is unable to make anything more complex than resistors, transistor arrays and resonators.”
Without foreign components, Russian troops would barely be able to carry out large-scale attacks on Ukrainian civilians, the General Staff said.
Examples
Rudyk said the Baget-83 onboard computer, used in the guidance and fire-control system of the Tornado-G multiple rocket launcher, contains microchips made in the United States and Switzerland.
An electronic unit that forms part of a satellite navigation system contained no Russian components at all, he said, with parts of American, South Korean and Swiss origin.
Sanctions loopholes
Western countries have banned exports of many electronic components to Russia, but researchers have repeatedly found Western-made chips in Russian missiles, drones and other weapons recovered in Ukraine, often obtained through third countries before or despite sanctions. Kyiv has urged its partners to tighten export controls and close supply routes.
Sources
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