The Russian Iskander-K cruise missile, which struck a theater in central Chernihiv on August 19, 2023, killing 7 people, including a 6-year-old child, contained U.S.-made chips in its navigation system.
Specifically, the SN-99 navigation system installed in the Iskander missile is the ‘brain’ of the missile. This navigation system is made up of components from four Western companies. More details on how these Western components reach Russia can be found in research by Ukrainian hacktivists ‘InformNapalm’ . The system in the missile was identified by a researcher from the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise, Oleksandr Vysikan.
The components and markings on the missile indicate it was assembled no earlier than March 2023, a year after the U.S. and European countries imposed sanctions on the supply of Western defense components and technologies to Russia.
One of the missile fragments was an intact green-colored metal board with chips. Two semiconductors were engraved with markings that indicated they were made by Silicon Laboratories Inc., based in Austin, Texas (USA). According to the markings, the chips were manufactured in the third week of January and the first week of March. They were later delivered to Russia via sanctions loopholes, despite the restrictions in place.
Other Western navigation components present in the missile that struck the theater in Chernihiv belonged to the American chip manufacturers Analog Devices, the German company Infineon Technologies, and the American company Integrated Silicon Solution Inc., which has Chinese capital.
Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen control over the enforcement of sanctions against companies that circumvent restrictions to supply Western components to Russia. There is ample evidence and research to uncover these schemes. It is crucial to prevent Russia from using Western components to manufacture weapons that kill innocent Ukrainian civilians.
