“The Financial Times has investigated the equipment of Western companies used by Russia to produce the Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile. Source: Financial Times Verbatim: “Vladimir Putin’s experimental Oreshnik missile launched against Ukraine last month was produced by Russian companies that still rely on modern Western manufacturing equipment, according to FT analysis.””, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
The Financial Times has investigated the equipment of Western companies used by Russia to produce the Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile.
Source: Financial Times
Literally: “Vladimir Putin’s experimental Oreshnik missile launched against Ukraine last month was made by Russian companies that still rely on modern Western production equipment, according to FT analysis.”
Details: The publication writes that two leading Russian armed engineering institutes, named by Ukrainian intelligence as the developers of Oreshnik, advertised for employees who are familiar with the metalworking systems of German and Japanese companies.
In particular, vacancies for the Moscow Institute of Thermal Engineering (MIT) and Sozvezdiye, tracked by the Financial Times, illustrate that Russia remains critically dependent on foreign technology covered by Western sanctions.
“This dependence is particularly noticeable in the field of computer numerical control (CNC), a technology vital to the production of Oreshnik, which allows factories to quickly form materials with high precision, using computers to control tools,” the article says. .
The publication investigated that in the announcements of MIT for 2024, the leading institution for the development of Russian solid-fuel ballistic missiles, it is noted that “we adhere to Fanuc, Siemens, Haidenhein systems.”
Fanuc is a Japanese company, and the other two are German. All three companies produce control systems for high-precision CNC machines.
The same three Western companies are mentioned in the announcements of “Sozvezdiya”, which indicated “automated control and communication systems” for military use as one of its specializations. The ad requires “knowledge of CNC systems – Fanuc, Siemens, Haidenhain.”
A video released earlier this year by Titan Barricades, the third defense company involved in the production of the Oreshnik, also shows a worker standing in front of a control device labeled Fanuc.
“Russia has long relied on foreign-made machines, despite efforts to create domestic alternatives. While the Kremlin purchases large numbers of high-precision metalworking machines from China, their control systems continue to be sourced from the West,” writes the FT.
It is noted that in 2024, at a large Russian exhibition, eight Chinese companies presented 12 models of devices with CNC. According to the analysis of the Economic Security Council of Ukraine, 11 of these models were equipped with Japanese or German-made controllers.
Also, the job announcements show that the Stan company, which is leading Russian efforts to build a domestic CNC manufacturing industry, uses Heidenhain equipment.
“Stopping the flow of CHP controllers and equipment to Russia is a priority task for Kyiv’s allies. CHP devices and components are included in the so-called “joint list of high-priority goods”, the supply of which they especially want to deny to Moscow,” the article states.
Although export controls have slowed the flow of these goods to Russia, an analysis of Russian declarations by the publication shows that since the beginning of 2024, at least $3 million worth of supplies have arrived in Russia, which include Heidenhain components. Some of their customers are deeply connected to military production.
One of the shipments was listed as being for a system that included a new Heidenhain TNC640 control unit manufactured in 2023. According to information on the Heidenhain website, the TNC640 “defines a high-end range of control technologies in its field” and “enables combined milling, turning and grinding operations.”
The $345,000 machine was shipped via China to the Baltic Industrial Company, a Russian company under US sanctions with a history of supplying CNC machines to the defense industry.
Heidenhain and Baltic did not respond to requests for comment.
Siemens said it was “uncompromising on (sanctions) compliance” and would investigate “any signs of circumvention … and involve the necessary and appropriate authorities.”
Fanuc acknowledged that the machine pictured on Titan Barricade was similar to theirs, but noted that it appeared to be old.
They said they had “increased vigilance and controls” within our export control processes to prevent the potential diversion of technology or equipment to Russian entities.
Prehistory:
- According to the Air Force, during the missile attack on the city of Dnipro on November 21, the Russian Federation used an intercontinental ballistic missile. “UP” sources reported that it could be a “Rubezh” missile, which is a potential carrier of a nuclear charge.
- In an address on November 21, the head of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin, said that during the morning attack on the Dnipro, the Russians used an Oreshnik medium-range missile.
- The United States officially confirmed that Russia struck the Dnipro on the morning of November 21 with a ballistic missile that was based on the RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile.
- On November 22, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense announced that on November 21, the aggressor state Russia struck the territory of Ukraine, using a ballistic missile, probably from the Kedr missile complex.
- On November 28, Putin announced the alleged start of serial production of the Oreshnik system. The leader of the Kremlin said that he could use the Oreshnik missile against “decision-making centers in Kyiv.”