Bloomberg: Russian military companies get access to American technology with a few simple clicks
The United States has barred its tech companies from working with Russia and targeted Moscow with tough sanctions, but that has failed to cut off Russian arms companies’ access to American equipme and chips.
According to Isna, the American media in an article referring to the sighting of American equipme in Russian-made missiles and drones, reported that Western couries have not been able to reduce Moscow’s ability to obtain key American-made technologies with the rigid sanctions they have imposed against Russia.
Ever since the United States and its allies imposed sanctions on Ukraine following Russia’s invasion, Western officials have been frustrated by Moscow’s coinued ability to acquire American technology to bolster its military forces, Bloomberg reported. Russian weapons found on the battlefield are filled with equipme from American companies such as Iel, which has frustrated officials in Washington, Brussels and Kiev.
A set of documes obtained by Bloomberg reveal new details about the supply chain. These documes show what steps Russian military equipme suppliers go through to obtain parts from the American company Texas Instrumes. This American company is completely in the dark, and companies like it are unwittingly helping to produce the drones, guided bombs, precision communications systems, and Alexander missiles that Russia is using in the Ukraine war.
Testimony of represeatives of chip manufacturing companies in the US Congress
According to Bloomberg, the purchase process is surprisingly simple. Some Russian distributors have put the information available in the online store of Texas Instrumes on their website, and companies that iend to use this equipme They register their order with a few simple clicks. These goods are then purchased by companies registered outside the borders of Russia.
In one case reviewed by Bloomberg, a major Russian distributor had placed more than 4,000 orders worth $6 million through August, with roughly $4 million of those orders going to Russian military companies. Before eering Russia, these goods were first se to iermediate destinations such as Hong Kong.
The U.S. governme has warned chip makers in the coury that they must take more steps to ensure their technology does not fall io the hands of the Russian military. In September hearings in the US Congress, Senator Richard Blumehal said the companies “objectively and knowingly failed to preve Russia from benefiting from their technologies.”
Iskander missile made in Russia
An anonymous group of middlemen and shell companies have helped Russia’s military-industrial complex coinue to buy American technology despite years of war and Western sanctions, according to a Bloomberg report. “These relatively simple chips are critical to Russia’s ability to produce weapons.”
The websites of Russian distributors are so up-to-date that it is not possible to determine exactly how these distributors have access to accurate information about prices and real-time inveory of American companies’ products, according to experts.
According to Bloomberg, Western chipmakers have come under fire because their products are still found in Russian weapons. For example, Texas Instrumes chips have been found in Russia’s Kinzhal air-to-air missiles and Lancet attack drones.
This report states: “About 14% of the compones in the remnas of Russian missiles in the attack on Ukraine were made by this company.”
Russia has been able to gain access to American equipme while, according to Texas Instrumes, it reviews on average more than four million orders a year and cancels thousands of suspicious ones.
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