Ukrainian military intelligence got a surprise when it took a closer look at the Russian copy of the Reaper drone
The first specialized facility in Russia for the manufacture of large military drones, which the Kronstadt company established in Dubna, near Moscow. February 2, 2022. PHOTO: EyePress News / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia
The Orion drone, weighing one ton, the Russian copy of the famous Reaper model of the US army, is equipped with American electronic components, according to the latest assessment of the Ukrainian secret services, writes The Kyiv Independent on Wednesday.
On November 5, Ukraine's military intelligence service (HUR) published a detailed analysis of the Russian “Orion” drone, a large unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) used primarily for maritime surveillance that can carry up to 250 kilograms of explosives.
Built by Kronshtadt, the Orion drone is broadly equivalent to the US Reaper drone, with similar exterior design and curves. Despite the fact that Russian military officials promoted the use of the Orion drone in Syria, the device did not go into mass production until the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Orion was to be Russia's flagship unmanned vehicle until that position was usurped by the Iranian-designed Shahed (kamikaze drone), whose production Russia transferred to its Alabuga factory in 2023.
HUR listed 43 Russian companies that make various components of the Orion drone, noting in an announcement that “a third of them are not subject to sanctions by any nation in the” Western coalition that has imposed similar punitive measures on Moscow over its invasion.
The more complex parts are mostly made by Russian manufacturers, but there is a problem: their microchips and processors are mostly purchased from Western manufacturers in general and American manufacturers in particular.
Electronic components from Motorola, AMD (Advanced Micro Devices – Intel's rival), Texas Instruments, Analog Devices and Maxim were particularly heavily involved in domestic Orion production schemes, according to Ukrainian intelligence.
This situation persists despite sanctions aimed at preventing these electronic components from entering Russia's defense industry.
“Track Contracts”
This is an issue that has long concerned US policymakers. A US Senate subcommittee report released last September showed that while semiconductor and microchip exports to Russia collapsed after the 2022 invasion, exports to Turkey doubled.
Exports to Russia's neighbors such as Georgia have increased 35-fold and to Kazakhstan 1,000-fold – figures widely seen as evidence of sanctions-busting by third countries.
For Ukrainians, the solution is to improve the tracking of individual units sold. “Follow the contracts,” Volodymyr Ariev, a member of the Ukrainian parliament, was quoted as saying by the Kyiv-based publication.
“Force companies to mark exports with unique numbers and try to track their products,” the Ukrainian lawmaker added.
