A Sukhoi S-70 Okhotnik-B unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), found crashed behind Ukrainian lines, was built using a plethora of Western chips. The drone included parts from Analog Devices, Fairchild Semiconductor, Infineon, Marvell, Maxim, Micron, ON Semiconductor, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments, Xilinx, and more — some of which also produce electronics for the U.S. military.
According to the German news site Golem.de (machine translated), the drone was deliberately shot down by a Russian jet after it went out of control in the Donetsk region, some 16 kilometers behind the frontlines. Ukrainian soldiers then recovered the wreckage and an investigation by Ukraine’s military intelligence service (GUR) revealed these chips and their sources.
The S-70 Okhotnik-B is one of Russia’s most advanced drone prototypes, and it’s supposed to act as an autonomous wingman to the Sukhoi Su-57 using artificial intelligence. Although the S-70 is primarily a reconnaissance drone, it’s reported to have an internal weapons bay capable of carrying up to 2,000kg of missiles, rockets, or bombs. Because of this, the S-70 requires advanced electronics to help accomplish its mission. Although the West has heavily sanctioned Russia, reducing its access to advanced technologies, it’s still able to acquire key components through the black market, allowing Russian companies to continue using Western electronics to produce weapons despite stringent export control. For example, Ukrainian defenders have seen Western technologies in Russian missiles as of late October 2024.
STMicroelectronics says that it “does not approve the use of its products outside of its intended use and have implemented comprehensive trade compliance programs” while Infineon Technologies has stopped delivering to Russia since it invaded Ukraine. However, their chips are among the over 4,000 foreign parts that the GUR found inside 150+ captured Russian weapons and munitions, showing how Western technologies trickle toward Russia despite tight export controls. Although sanctions have reduced the shipments of high-performance chips to Russia via China and Hong Kong by 20%, an investigation by the New York Times shows that over $4 billion in restricted technology entered Russia through a single Hong Kong address.
This is the same problem that the U.S. is experiencing with its sanctions against China — where firms that have been blacklisted from buying American parts just open up shop down the road and buy from U.S. companies before Washington’s ban hammer strikes them again. We truly cannot expect Russian munitions to stop using Western parts, especially if there’s no other alternative, and it is feasable to acquire them. But, at the very least, America and her allies’ efforts to stop their sale will make it harder and more expensive for the aggressor to acquire this much-needed equipment.
