Russia’s modern military systems depend on microelectronics produced in the West / Article

The authors of the report explained that Moscow has found ways to circumvent sanctions and export controls. But if these shortcomings are addressed, the Russian army may be permanently degraded.

Researchers from a UK think tank spent several months in Ukraine examining 27 of Russia’s most advanced military systems. They discovered at least 450 different types of unique, foreign-made ingredients, most of which are produced in the United States and other Western countries as well.

As Jack Watling, a senior research fellow at the think tank and one of the authors of the 60-page report, acknowledged, Russia’s combat system relies heavily on the so-called reconnaissance strike: finding its targets and then hitting them with massive firepower. And experts found that almost every step in this chain depends on components produced in the West.

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