Russian weapons riddled with Western electronic components, RUSI finds
The Orlan-10 UAV is one of the military systems examined in RUSI's report on western electronics in Russian military equipment. (Photo: Russian MoD)
Hundreds of foreign-made microelectronic components such as processors have been found in weapons used by Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, according to a recent report from the RUSI think tank.
The report, ‘Silicon Lifeline: Western Electronics at the Heart of Russia’s War Machine’, includes an examination of the components and functioning of 27 of Russia’s ‘most modern’ weapons, including cruise missiles, found at least 450 foreign-made components many of which were made by US companies known for providing microelectronics to the US military.
According to the 8 August report, as many as 80 of the components were subject to
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