More than 450 foreign-made components have been found in Russian weapons captured by Ukraine. Such conclusions were made by the Royal United Services Institute defense think tank.

Reuters news agency cited the think tank’s report.

Since the start of the war, the Ukrainian servicemen managed to capture intact or partially damaged Russian weapons from the battlefield.

When disassembled, 27 of these weapons and military systems, ranging from cruise missiles to air defense systems, were found to rely predominantly on Western components, according to the research shared by Reuters.

The news agency noted that it is the most detailed published assessment to date of the part played by Western components in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

About two-thirds of the components were manufactured by US companies. Products manufactured by the US-based Analog Devices and Texas Instruments equaled nearly a quarter of all the Western components in the Russian weapons.

Other components found in weapons originated from Japan, South Korea, Britain, Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.

The Royal United Services Institute believes that strengthening export restrictions and enforcement could make it harder for Russia to replenish its arsenal of weapons such as cruise missiles.

What is in Russian rockets?

In one case, a Russian 9M727 cruise missile, which can maneuver at low altitude to evade radar and can strike targets hundreds of miles away, contained 31 foreign components.

The spare parts were produced by companies that included US-based Texas Instruments Inc and Advanced Micro Devices Inc , as well as Cypress Semiconductor, which is now owned by Infineon AG , a German company, the RUSI investigation found.

In another case, a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile, which has been used to strike Ukrainian cities, also had 31 foreign components with parts manufactured by companies including US-based Intel Corporation and AMD-owned Xilinx.

Replying to questions about how chips ended up in Russian weapons, the companies stated they comply with trade sanctions and have stopped selling components to Russia.

Analog Devices said the company closed its business in Russia and instructed distributors to halt shipments to the country.

Texas Instruments said it follows all laws in the countries where they operate and the parts found in the Russian weapons were designed for commercial products.

Intel said it “does not support or tolerate our products being used to violate human rights.”

Infineon said it was “deeply concerned” if its products are being used for purposes which they were not designed for. AMD said it strictly follows all global export control laws.

How did western components get to the Russian Federation?

Due to foreign components’ cheapness and non-military usage, many Russian companies would have been able to buy them before Russia’s invasion in Ukraine, online through domestic or international distributors.

However, more than 80 Western-manufactured microchips were subject to US export controls meaning they would have required a license to be shipped to Russia.

The companies exporting the parts had a responsibility to carry out due diligence to ensure they were not being sent to the Russian military or for a military end-use.

Russia still depends on Western components for weapons

The investigation’s findings show how Russia’s military remains reliant on foreign microchips for everything from tactical radios to drones and precision long-range munitions. The researchers also note that after the annexation of Crimea, Russia had access to such components.

Russia is currently working to find new routes to secure access to Western microchips. Many components are sold through distributors operating in Asia, such as Hong Kong, which acts as a gateway for electronics making their way to the Russian military or companies acting on its behalf.

The US government said in March that Russian firms were front companies that have been buying up electronics for Russia’s military. Russian customs records show that in March last year one company imported $600,000 worth of electronics manufactured by Texas Instruments through a Hong Kong distributor.

Seven months later, the same company imported another $1.1 million worth of microelectronics made by Xilinx, RUSI reports.

Russia’s military could be permanently weakened if Western governments strengthen export controls, manage to shut down the country’s “clandestine procurement” networks and prevent sensitive components from being manufactured in states that support Russia, RUSI reports.

As previously reported, the U.S. is looking into the incident in which American electronics were used in Russian military gear.