US authorities have begun investigating the supply chain of American-made chips to Russia. The researchers found them in Russian military equipment that is involved in the hostilities in Ukraine jpg” alt=”WP has learned that the FBI is investigating the case of US chips in Russian military equipment” />
FBI agents, together with the US Department of Commerce, began investigating the case of US chips in Russian military equipment, which is involved in military operations in Ukraine. The Washington Post writes about this, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
Department officials come to the offices of technology companies to learn about how Western chips and other components ended up in Russian radar systems, drones, tanks, ground control equipment and coastal ships.
A lawyer for one such American company told publication that investigators are studying many different chips and electronic components. They have a list of companies, he said, including intermediaries who may have passed products through the supply chain.
In April, a team of researchers from the Royal United Armed Forces Institute (RUSI) found computer chips from 12 American companies in Russian technology in Ukraine. Based on the ID numbers, WP determined that the list included Intel, Analog Devices, Texas Instruments, and Onsemi, as well as components from six chip manufacturers in Europe, Japan, and Taiwan.
The publication asked several American companies about the supply of electronics to Russia. Intel processor manufacturer spokesman William Moss said that for more than a decade the company has sold products to Russia through distributors who are responsible for complying with US export control regulations.
The — Semiconductor supplier Onsemi indicated that it stopped manufacturing one of the chips it found in Russian equipment back in 2008. Like chip maker Texas Instruments, the company stressed that it does not sell any products to Russia or Belarus. The developer of more than a dozen components for Russian military equipment, Analog Devices, did not answer questions from WP.
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One of the authors of the report, Nick Reynolds, said that Western chips were installed in Borisoglebsk-2 radio interference equipment, which was produced in 2015 or later. The group's researchers found an American fiber-optic gyroscope inside a Russian 9M949 guided missile.
At the same time, electrical engineers interviewed by the publication found that the elements were designed for general use, and not for the military. Most of them belong to the production of 2000-2010.
In addition, in May, a group of researchers of conflict weapons (Conflict Armament Research), after a visit to Ukraine, found in radio stations, on-board systems and the remains of Kh-59 Ovod cruise missiles. electronic components from 86 companies from the USA and Europe. At the same time, many parts were manufactured after 2014, including in 2019-2020.
One of the group's investigators, Damien Spleeters, said that the group found microcircuits with scratched markings inside two Russian radio stations in the Luhansk region of Ukraine. One set of parts manufactured in 2013-2018 was found in a rocket that fell in the central part of Ukraine on February 24. The group found another set of chips manufactured in 2017-2020 in a rocket after the attack on Nikolaev on March 29.
Since 2014, after the annexation of Crimea to Russia, the United States began to control the sale of high-tech elements to Russia for military use. The authorities required exporters to obtain a state license. At the same time, there were no restrictions on the supply of electronics for general use.
After the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine in February, the United States banned the sale of any chips to the Russian military and imposed export restrictions on other buyers from Russia.
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