Андрій Харук 
Центр ініціатив ПЖ 
Vadim Kushnikov 
Андрій Тарасенко 
Юрій Юзич 
Віктор Шолудько 
Роман Приходько 
25 November, 2022
An Altera Cyclone II FPGA chip in the internal navigation system of the Russian 9M544 high-precision guided missile, also known as Tornado-S, which the Ukrainian military assembled on the battlefield and presented to Reuters by a senior SSU official in Kyiv, Ukraine, July 19, 2022. REUTERS/Valentyn Ohirenko
The Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine named the companies that produce microchips for the Russian Federation
Foreign companies continue assisting Russia with microchips for Russian missiles.
The list of these companies was published by the Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine.
Over the past two weeks, Ukraine has been subjected to the most extensive shelling during the entire period of the full-scale war.
To guide missiles, Russia uses its GLONASS technology, an analogue of GPS.
Although GLONASS is a dual-purpose system, it is primarily used by the Russian military to target Ukrainian cities.
“There is a weak point in the Russian navigation system, as GLONASS depends on microchips produced by the foreign companies,” the Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine shared.
Russian missiles and drones are equipped with foreign-made GLONASS-enabled microchips.
According to intelligence, these are usually civilian chips. However, the Russians use them for military purposes.
The chips receive and process coordinates from GLONASS, and the missiles use this information to navigate through space and aim at Ukrainian civil and energy infrastructure.
Many foreign companies continue producing microchips with GLONASS support to this day:
- Linx Technologies (USA);
- Broadcom (USA);
- Qualcomm (USA);
- Telit (USA);
- Maxim Integrated (USA);
- TRIMBLE (USA);
- Cavli Wireless (USA);
- U-blox AG (Switzerland);
- STMicroelectronics (Switzerland);
- Sierra Wireless (Canada);
- NovAtel (Canada);
- Septentrio (Belgium);
- Antenova (Great Britain).
“They are used at least in such weapons as “Orlan-10” and Shahed-136 drones, “Tornado-S” and “Smerch” MLRS, “Iskander”, “Kalibr”, and “Kinzhal” missiles, as well as Kh-101, Kh-555, Kh-38, Kh-59MK, Kh-31 aviation and cruise missiles,” the intelligence said.
Russia, in turn, continues purchasing GLONASS-enabled microchips through numerous shell companies and distributors. Without foreign-made GLONASS-enabled chips, Russians will have to develop their microelectronics from scratch.
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