Commerce Department launches investigation into how U.S. electronic components ended up in Russian radar
WASHINGTON – Federal agents have begun questioning U.S. technology companies on how their computer chips ended up in Russian military equipment recovered in Ukraine. The Washington Post reports. Continue reading original article
The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:
17 June 2022 -- U.S. Commerce Department agents who enforce export controls are conducting the inquiries together with the FBI, paying joint visits to companies to ask about Western integrated circuits and other electronic components found in Russian radar systems, unmanned vehicles, tanks, ground-control equipment, and surface warships, say people familiar with the matter.
It isn’t clear which specific electronic components are being probed, yet investigators from a variety of countries have identified Western electronics in Russian weaponry found in Ukraine.
Many of those components appear to have been manufactured years ago, before the U.S. tightened export restrictions after Russia seized Crimea in 2014. Other parts, however, were manufactured as recently as 2020, according to Conflict Armament Research (CAR), a research group in London that has examined some of the parts.
John Keller, chief editor
Military & Aerospace Electronics
