Russian self-reliance in microelectronics remains a distant dream
Rostec communications equipment, pictured at Army 2020 in Moscow. (Photo: Rostec)
A dependence on foreign-made microelectronics remains a critical vulnerability for the Russian defence sector.
On 20 April, Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov announced that his companies are accelerating the development of domestic microelectronics ‘as foreign deliveries can be stopped at any time’.
He added: ‘The trend of recent years shows that import of the electronic components, products and software can be terminated at any time. That is why we are speeding up the development of our own hardware components, technologies and products.’
Concerns over security of supply are not new. The authorities in Moscow recognised this vulnerability in high-technology defence programmes several years ago, and they have been working to improve the situation since then.
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