British tech used by Russians against Ukraine

 Telegraph:

British technology has been found in Russian weapons used against Ukraine, a new report has revealed.

Oscillators and crystals produced by Somerset-based Golledge Electronics have been built into Russian radars and missile systems.

The highly sophisticated components show that Moscow’s war machine is reliant on highly sophisticated Western technology, according to the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi).

Russia has lost so many cruise and ballistic missiles, electronic warfare equipment and specialist radios in Ukraine that “the degradation in Russian military capability could be made permanent if appropriate policies are implemented”, the report says.

The Kremlin has also set up a “clandestine network” of spies to try and source replacements for the components, which it can no longer access because of sanctions, it adds.

The oscillators and crystals emit a precise electrical signal that can be used in computer chips and quartz watches.

Russia built them into its Torn-MDM, a truck-based system designed to intercept communications and radio signals, and the Tor-M2 rocket, which uses radar to detect targets.

The UK, as a member of the European Union, introduced a prohibition on the export of so-called “dual-use” goods for military purposes as part of a 2014 sanctions package against Moscow after the illegal annexation of Crimea.

However, a loophole, which was not closed by Brussels until after the outbreak of the conflict, allowed European businesses to continue sending items to Russia that could have military application as long as the importing firm promised it would not be used as such.

In February, days after the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, the UK introduced a tougher ban on shipments to Russia of all products and technology – including microchips and semiconductors – that could have “dual use” to support its military.

The measure has been constantly tweaked by both the UK and EU throughout the war in order to widen the scope of products captured under the sanctions.

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The war is exposing the weakness of the Russian tech sector and its reliance on imports from the west.  As attrition takes hold this will become more of a problem for the Putin regime.  Russia has also been exposed on the battlefield where it is running short of troops and equipment.