strong expression
United States Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo statedChips belonging to household appliances such as refrigerators and dishwashers were found in Russian military equipment seized by Ukrainian soldiers. According to him, the Russian army uses improvised means to repair tanks and other ground vehicles.
“We have received reports from the Ukrainians that Russian military equipment is full of semiconductors. [российские солдаты] It’s been removed from dishwashers and refrigerators,” Raimondo said.
Discussing Raimondo’s statement with socialbites.ca, representatives of the Russian radio-electronics industry thought that his words were not true. For example, Fedor Dbar, commercial director of Kod Security (which develops network equipment for state-owned companies), said that “in deep theory” the only chips that could be used in both home appliances and military equipment are programmable logic integrated circuits (FPGAs). ). ).
“Small chips made by many companies. FPGAs are very common and used in many places. For example, in American rockets, cars, microwave ovens, etc.
However, despite the relative versatility of FPGAs, it is impossible to transplant them in the field, according to the expert.
“To make a “transport” first requires special equipment in the “fields” that no one carries with them. Secondly, you need to somehow remove the circuit from household appliances, and this is a rather trivial task.
Third, the FPGA extracted for “transport” must be exactly the right model. And there are dozens of them! Fourth, the same programmer is needed, because the FPGA of the washing machine is programmed accordingly, and in order to work in the tank, it needs to be re-polished,” explained the expert.
In the end, he noted that the chip must be placed in the tank and at the same time not damage other components at all stages, which is impossible when using a soldering iron.
A similar opinion was expressed by another source of socialbites.ca, a representative of one of the largest enterprises in Russia for the production of electronics. He also noted that in theory it is possible to replace components, but in practice it is almost impossible.
According to the source, as part of the development of any equipment, the compatibility of components is carried out. As a result, not only the characteristics of the microcircuits are regulated, but also the manufacturer and product model. Often, violation of these regulations is followed by partial or complete loss of functionality of the entire device.
“Also, mass production of this [военной] technology is regulated and standardized. The quality requirements are strict and no one in their right mind would drop them.
In addition, the production of military equipment takes place within the framework of the state defense order, which implies harsh sanctions for violating the operational characteristics of products. Therefore, I believe such a scenario is impossible with military equipment,” he said.
A source from another Russian company that manufactures industrial microelectronics called Raimondo’s statement “nonsense.” According to the interlocutor of socialbites.ca, the use of components from household appliances in military vehicles is unlikely, at least because of the low class of protection against environmental influences.
“Everything from household appliances to military equipment will overheat and break down within minutes. This message is bullshit,” the source said.
no famine
In a statement, the US Secretary of Commerce also noted that Russia had to relocate microelectronic components due to a shortage that emerged on the backdrop of technology sanctions. He claims that the military equipment of the Russian Federation for a long time was created on the basis of technologies developed in the United States or in allied countries.
Our approach was to deprive Russia of technology. Technologies that will undermine Russia’s ability to continue military operation. And that’s what we’re doing right now,” said Raimondo.
According to him, due to the sanctions in Russia, the “two largest tank-building plants” allegedly stopped their work: Uralvagonzavod and the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant (ChTZ).
ChTZ’s press service denied the US Secretary of Commerce’s statement and was often taken aback by his words, as the company does not produce tanks or other armored vehicles. The plant only assembles engines for ground military vehicles. Answering editors’ questions about the plant’s closure and the use of chips from household appliances in tanks, they recommended that such statements by the White House not be taken seriously.
There is no point in seriously reacting to such statements from the White House. This is a lie. Especially since our company produces full-time, it does not experience any problems due to sanctions. Today, the localization of ChTZ production is over 97%, and for a number of products – 100%,” said the press service.
At the time of publication, Uralvagonzavod did not respond to socialbites.ca’s request. However, it is known that on the eve of the enterprise. sent to the troops batch of a new T-90M “Proryv” tank.
Experts categorically disagreed with the thesis on the destructiveness of American sanctions. For example, Ivan Pokrovsky, Director General of the Russian Electronics Developers and Manufacturers Association (ARPE), said that they have the least impact on the military-industrial complex (MIC).
“Sanctions hit private companies that produce large-scale civilian products the hardest. They are the most open to cooperation with foreign companies and they see them as reliable partners,” he said.
Pokrovsky believes Raimondo’s statements are an attempt by the US Department of Commerce, responsible for export control and enforcement of sanctions, to demonstrate the effectiveness of the restrictions imposed against the Russian Federation.
“[Ведомство] “The sanctions are presenting information as if they achieved their goal, but they actually hit a different target, the civilian sector,” said Pokrovsky.
A representative of one of Russia’s largest electronics manufacturers spoke similarly.
“The main modules of military equipment are produced in the Russian Federation. Of course, Russian design centers have difficulties with the availability of components, but not so significant as to disassemble household appliances. The source said that Russian design centers have been under sanctions for a long time and have not stopped working.
In turn, Fedor Dbar of the Security Act also questioned the veracity of Raimondo’s words about the destructiveness of American sanctions against Russian Ministry of Defense contractors. In his opinion, American sanctions are less scary for military equipment, since in their manufacture in 99% of cases domestically produced chips are used.
Source: Gazeta
