Scandal: a new portion of the AlabugaLeaks investigation reveals the use of NVIDIA, Sony and Saito products by the Russian drone manufacturer Albatross to circumvent international sanctions

Collage: Midjourney

The Ukrainian blog InformNapalm continues its investigation into the data obtained from the Russian manufacturer of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) Albatros, which was passed on by hacktivists from the Cyber Resistance group. The third part of AlabugaLeaks focuses on how the Albatross M5 is used by the Russian armed forces in the Ukrainian war, the impact of the weak sanctions measures until 2022 on the development of the Russian military-industrial complex, and how Albatross avoided sanctions imposed on Russia after 2022.

• The use of the Albatross-M5 in the war against Ukraine.
• The impact of sanctions measures until 2022 on the Russian military-industrial complex.
• Methods for Albatross to avoid sanctions after 2022.

The use of Albatross-M5 in the war against Ukraine

Data from AlabugaLeaks indicate an increase in the production of Albatross-M5 UAVs from year to year, which indicates the growing interest of the Russian Armed Forces in this type of equipment. According to the documents, 30 units of these drones were already produced in 2021, most of which were used to provide services or were in stock. This indicates the active use of Albatros-M5 in the context of armed conflict. Although Albatros does not publicly advertise its active involvement in the war, they are methodically updating their "military" presentation of the Albatros-M5.

Obviously, during 2022-2023, the Albatross-M5 was tested in the combat zone. The geography of its use was quite extensive and ran along the entire frontline.

Map of combat use of the Albatross-M5 in Ukraine from the Albatross website

The impact of sanctions on the Russian military-industrial complex

The preliminary documentary analysis shows that the weak sanctions measures until 2022 did not stop the development of the Russian military-industrial complex. Even with limited opportunities in the foreign market, Albatros was able to increase production of its UAVs and expand its customer base.

Sony cameras play a key role in Albatros' aerial photography and artillery adjustment missions. Typically, these are the Sony A6000 and Sony RX1R2 models for photography, and the Sony FCB-EH6500 and Sony FCB-EV7500 cameras for video recording. In addition, Albatross manufactures gyro-stabilised gimbals based on these devices for its unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). These gimbals are used for nighttime video recording with a thermal imager. They are available for purchase on their website.

Albatross uses Nvidia Jetson series microcomputers for neural network-based pattern recognition. Director Florov's email shows that communication and cooperation with NVIDIA has been going on since at least 2016. It did not stop after the invasion, nor after the sanctions against Russia, nor after the direct US sanctions against Albatross LLC. Florov's contact at NVIDIA is Anton Dzhorayev, Senior Manager of Corporate Business Development at NVIDIA Corporation. The most recent one is a letter dated 26 February 2024 inviting Albatross to attend the world's "number 1" conference on artificial intelligence, NVIDIA GTC 2024. At the end of the letter, Dzhorayev writes that "invitations can be sent to students and interested colleagues". Obviously, the students are meant to be students of Alabuga Polytechnic. Accordingly, Anton Dzhorayev is well aware of what Albatros LLC and Alabuga SEZ are and what they all do.

Letter from NVIDIA manager Dzhorayev inviting him to attend the NVIDIA GTC 2024 conference

Another letter sent to Florov, dated 24 November 2023, from an Alabuga accountant, reveals that the Russian military remains loyal to internal combustion engines made by Japanese manufacturer Saito. These engines were previously used in Russian Orlan-10 unmanned aerial vehicles. The question of how exactly these engines got into the Alabuga warehouse and for what purpose they were transferred to Florov, who signed the letter as "chief designer of Alabuga", remains open. Perhaps this is still a remnant from the pre-war period. However, in our previous investigation, we noted that the Russian authorities are trying to establish their own engine production at Alabuga. There is a possibility that Saito engines will become a target for copying.

A letter from 2023 proving the use of internal combustion engines from the Japanese manufacturer Saito

The absence of decisive anti-Russian sanctions has led to the Russian company developing normally. And in the Albatross drain, you can see the Russians' attempts to sell their product to Egypt, India, Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan, the UAE, Syria, Tanzania, and Myanmar.

Avoiding sanctions after 2022

Even after sanctions against Russia were tightened after 2022, Albatros found ways to circumvent the restrictions. For example, the company tried to export an anti-drone system to Kazakhstan through third parties, not stopping at breaching the terms of the contract.

Also, this year, Albatros has another interesting story with its entry into the United Arab Emirates market. In his correspondence regarding the price and possibility of importing unmanned aerial vehicles to the UAE, Albatross employee Mikhail Goldberg notes that "Albatross M5 was tested in Burkina Faso for 1 month. This event was organised by a private military company. We are unable to provide any other data on this matter".

Letter from 2024 proving drone testing in Burkina Faso

Interestingly, in other Albatross documentation, one can find information about a certain LLC "Birch Valley". In the Albatross business plan, there was a note opposite this "Birch Valley" - "Africa". In addition, this company was involved in the supply of the Kaspersky Antidrone system to Kazakhstan. Whether there is a connection with the Wagner Group is a question that needs to be answered.

The AlabugaLeaks analysis gives us a better understanding of how the Russian military-industrial complex is adapting to current geopolitical challenges, including sanctions and the war against Ukraine. Accordingly, additional measures of coalition pressure and counter-sanctions are needed to effectively deter Russia's aggressive activities.

Source: informnapalm.org