Russia has replaced some Western components in Kalibr missiles with its own and Chinese ones
Russia is ramping up production of its own components for Kalibr cruise missiles, The Economist reports.
Here's What We Know
The journalists analysed the materials of the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise, where parts of downed Russian missiles were examined. Among the components, they found parts of well-known brands such as AMD, Sony and Bosch. However, some of them, as it turned out, were manufactured by Chinese manufacturers and incorrectly labelled as products of Western or European companies.
Since the beginning of 2022, there has been a significant increase in the use of Russian components in missiles, including the so-called "brains", which are now mostly produced in Russia. At the beginning of the war, the Kalibr was mostly equipped with Western electronics, but now Russian industry has partially replaced these components.
A downed Kalibr cruise missile, 2022. Illustration: UKRAINIAN AIR FORCE
The shortage of critical parts is being compensated for by China, which supplies Russia with the elements needed for missile weapons through front companies. In addition, Chinese companies falsify documentation and use fake names of existing brands to avoid sanctions.
One example is the illegal use of the name of Taiwan's TRC by Chinese companies. The investigation revealed that components labelled as TRC products were actually manufactured by China's KST Digital Technology Limited. The dual rebranding scheme proved to be extremely sophisticated and involved critical components for the Russian defence industry.
Source: The Economist
