Russia Failed to Achieve Import Substitution for Kinzhal Missiles and Has Returned to Using American Processors

Russia is forced to return to American chips in its Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles because its own alternatives are inadequate.

Vladyslav Vlasiuk, the President’s Representative on Sanctions Policy, reported this to Militarnyi.

An examination of the Zarya-61 onboard computer from a Kinzhal missile shot down in May of this year revealed that it contained American Texas Instruments processors. In 2023, Russian developers had already attempted to replace these components with domestically produced microchips.

However, the latest Zarya-61 model no longer contains domestic replacements, and the Russians have once again used American processors. The analysis clearly indicates that the Russian equivalents did not deliver the desired results.

In addition, experts found an electronic circuit board in the debris of the Iskander missile containing AMD microchips manufactured as far back as 1996, as well as a Texas Instruments processor marked with a 1986 date.

“It has to combine its own component base with foreign ones, sourcing them from various markets and through different supply chains,” Vladyslav Vlasiuk emphasized.

Previously, the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense released data on 155 companies under the control of the Russian holding company Roselektronika. Sanctions have not yet been imposed against nearly half of the companies on the published list.