The Russians rely a lot on Western technology in their weapon systems. In addition, the products of large manufacturers have been flowing into the country even after the February attack and the sanctions coming into effect. These things appear in the news agency Reuters , Royal United Services Institute – think tank and investigative journalism news site focused on Russia of iStories from the joint report.
According to the report, both special licensed technology and very conventional circuits can be used in Russian missiles and other systems. Electronics, which in addition to weapon systems can also be used in, for example, cars or household appliances, are not necessarily even included in the scope of the sanctions.
In particular, fpga circuits, programmable gate arrays, which can be easily reprogrammed, can be seen in Russian weapons. Circuits can also be recycled and taken from common household appliances, such as washing machines, and reprogrammed for use in, for example, missiles.
It can include very modern technology, but also components from the 1980s. In addition, the investigation revealed that even after the start of the war, thousands of shipments containing parts covered by sanctions have leaked to Russia. Components from well-known manufacturers could have been sent to the country even before the attack, but they did not arrive until later in the spring. In many cases, components could have been delivered without the manufacturer’s knowledge, through several intermediaries.
There is a research institute in Russia that reviews components produced elsewhere in case they do not have backdoors that enable Western intelligence or sabotage. Russian equipment manufacturers are encouraged to use as much domestically produced electronics as possible, but the manufacturers are clearly dependent on technology from elsewhere.
There are simply no Russian equivalents for many components. A document seen by Reuters from 2017 shows how the research institute had gone through a device intended for helicopters, which can be used to disrupt the radio traffic of enemies. Of its 921 foreign components, only 242 could have been manufactured in Russia at that time.