Russia's Oreshnik missile makers rely on Western equipment - FT
Kyiv • UNN
Vladimir Putin's experimental Oreshnik missile launched against Ukraine last month was manufactured by Russian companies that still rely on modern Western production equipment.
Vladimir Putin’s experimental "Oreshnik" missile fired against Ukraine last month was made by Russian companies that still rely on advanced western manufacturing equipment, the Financial Times citing its analysis reports, UNN writes.
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Two leading Russian military engineering institutes, named by Ukrainian intelligence as the developers of the Oreshnik missile, are reportedly advertising for workers familiar with metalworking systems produced by German and Japanese companies.
The vacancies at the Moscow Institute of Heat Engineering and Sozvezdiye, which the Financial Times has been tracking, illustrate how the Kremlin's military machine remains critically dependent on foreign technology subject to Western sanctions.
"The dependence is especially pronounced in the area of computer numerical control (CNC), a technology vital to the production of Oreshnik that allows factories to quickly mold materials with high precision by using computers to control tools," the publication writes.
MITT, one of the companies that Ukrainian intelligence says was involved in the Oreshnyk, is a leading institution in the development of Russian solid-fuel ballistic missiles. In an advertisement posted in 2024, the company states that "we stick 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 publication points out.
"The same three Western companies are named in ads posted by Sozvezdiye, which listed one of its specialties as 'automated control and communication systems' for military use. The posting asks for "knowledge of CNC systems - Fanuc, Siemens, Haidenhain [sic]," the posting says.
A video released earlier this year by Titan Barrikady, the third defense company involved in the production of the Oreshnyk, also shows a worker standing in front of a control device bearing the Fanuc brand.
"Russia has long relied on foreign-made machine tools, despite attempts to create domestic alternatives. While the Kremlin has been buying large volumes of high-precision metalworking equipment from China, the controls for its operation have continued to be purchased in the West," the publication notes.
Denis Gutik, ESCU Executive Director, said: "The development of the Oreshnik shows how much the Russian military-industrial complex still depends on high-end Western equipment. Western governments must insist on stopping the flow of these goods, which, as we saw last month in Dnipro, directly contribute to Russia's attack on Ukrainian life.
"Although export controls have slowed the flow of these goods to Russia, FT's analysis of Russian applications shows that at least $3 million in shipments, including Heidenhain components, have entered Russia since the beginning of 2024. Some of their buyers are deeply involved in military production," the publication says.
One of the shipments was reportedly "listed as a system that included a new Heidenhain TNC640 control manufactured in 2023." According to Heidenhain's website, the TNC640 "defines the high-end range of control technology in its field" and "enables combined milling, turning and grinding operations.
"The $345,000 device was shipped via China to Baltic Industrial Company, a Russian company under US sanctions that has a history of supplying CNC machines to the defense industry," the publication writes.
Heidenhain and Baltic, as indicated, did not respond to requests for comment.
Siemens stated that they "do not compromise on compliance with [sanctions]" and investigate "any signs of circumvention... and involve the necessary and appropriate authorities".
Fanuc acknowledged that the machine pictured at Titan Barrikady probably belonged to them, but noted that it was probably old.
They stated that they had "increased vigilance and controls in our export control processes to prevent the potential diversion of technology or equipment to Russian organizations.
