Bloomberg: Russian military companies get access to American technology with a few simple clicks

According to Isna, the American media in an article referring to the sighting of American equipment in Russian-made missiles and drones, reported that Western countries 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 continued ability to acquire American technology to bolster its military forces, Bloomberg reported. Russian weapons found on the battlefield are filled with equipment from American companies such as Intel, which has frustrated officials in Washington, Brussels and Kiev.

A set of documents obtained by Bloomberg reveal new details about the supply chain. These documents show what steps Russian military equipment suppliers go through to obtain parts from the American company Texas Instruments. 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.

According to Bloomberg, the purchase process is surprisingly simple. Some Russian distributors have put the information available in the online store of Texas Instruments on their website, and companies that intend to use this equipment 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 entering Russia, these goods were first sent to intermediate destinations such as Hong Kong.

The U.S. government has warned chip makers in the country that they must take more steps to ensure their technology does not fall into the hands of the Russian military. In September hearings in the US Congress, Senator Richard Blumenthal said the companies “objectively and knowingly failed to prevent Russia from benefiting from their technologies.”

An anonymous group of middlemen and shell companies have helped Russia’s military-industrial complex continue 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 inventory 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 Instruments chips have been found in Russia’s Kinzhal air-to-air missiles and Lancet attack drones.

This report states: “About 14% of the components in the remnants of Russian missiles in the attack on Ukraine were made by this company.”

Russia has been able to gain access to American equipment while, according to Texas Instruments, it reviews on average more than four million orders a year and cancels thousands of suspicious ones.

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