In 2024, metalworking tools worth more than $10 million were exported from Israel to Russia and used by companies linked to the Russian defense industry, according to an investigation by The Insider.

The products included milling cutters, drills, reamers, holders — including those made of superhard alloys and cermets — as well as grinding and grooving tools and other high-precision machining equipment.

Russia has long relied on foreign suppliers for computer numerical control (CNC) machine tools, which are essential for modern manufacturing, including in the defense sector, as Miltarnyi reported.

ISCAR

The largest Israeli supplier was ISCAR, a metalworking tools manufacturer that is part of the U.S.-based multinational IMC Group (International Metalworking Companies). The company operates in Russia through three subsidiaries: Iskar LLC, Tegotek Rus LLC, and Tungaloy Rus LLC.

Despite most of these subsidiaries being inactive on paper (except for Tungaloy Rus), ISCAR supplied more than $4 million worth of tools to Russia in 2024, the report says.

Before Russia restricted access to state procurement data, ISCAR tools were delivered to Russian defense companies including NPO Bazalt, the Beriev Aircraft Company, and the Sokol aircraft plant in Nizhny Novgorod.

According to Russian customs data, ISCAR shipments in 2024 entered Russia largely via obscure Chinese intermediaries and one firm in Uzbekistan.

Vargus

Another Israeli brand, Vargus, exported around $3 million worth of tools to Russia in 2024. Vargus is part of Germany’s NEUMO Ehrenberg Group.

Its products were supplied to defense-linked entities such as UEC-Kuznetsov, UAP Gidravlika, Proton-PM, NVO Iskra, Sukhoi, and the 70th Anniversary of Victory plant — part of the Almaz-Antey concern. The number of procurement contracts involving Vargus tools numbered in the hundreds.

The 70th Anniversary of Victory plant, built in the mid-2010s, is involved in final assembly and testing of the S-400 and S-500 air defense systems and associated radar systems.

Carmex

In 2024, cutting tools from Israeli firm Carmex were imported into Russia with a total declared value of about $2 million. The main buyer was Standard Tools LLC, whose revenue surged from 600 million rubles in 2022 to nearly 2 billion in 2023.

In previous years, including 2022, Carmex tools were used by firms such as the Fakel and Energia design bureaus and Atombud NIKI.
Direct exports from Carmex Precision Tools Ltd to Russia in 2024 totaled $1.84 million, according to Russian customs data.

EROJET

Cutting tools from Israeli brand EROJET were also shipped to Russia in 2024, with a total value of around $500,000.
In previous years, the primary Russian customer was the Stupino Machine-Building Production Enterprise, which is part of Russian Helicopters.

EROJET’s key importer in Russia, Alkrona LLC, has seen rapid profit growth in recent years. Its net profit tripled in 2022 and increased sixfold in 2023.