Sunday, July 31, 2022

Refrigerator and dishwasher semiconductors drive RWS of Russian tanks

SOFIA — Semiconductors from refrigerators and dishwashers brought as “spoils” from the war in Ukraine control the remote weapon systems of Russian tanks. Such a statement was made by US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in a statement to the Senate nearly two months ago. “We have reports from Ukrainians that when they find Russian military equipment, it’s full of semiconductors that they took out of dishwashers and refrigerators,” Raimondo told a Senate hearing.

Refrigerator and dishwasher semiconductors drive RWS of Russian tanks
Photo credit: AFP

Robin Patterson, a spokesman for the Commerce Department, said Ukrainian authorities told Raimondo that when they opened up captured Russian tanks, they found components intended for refrigerators and commercial and industrial machinery. Semiconductors, telecommunications equipment, lasers, avionics, and marine technology are subject to Russian export controls.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, social media has been full of photos of Russian soldiers burdening household appliances. A part of the “spoils of war” goes to the homes of Russian soldiers, others appear to the Uralvagonzavod for “reuse”.

Sanctions

BulgarianMilitary.com recalls that despite reports from Russian media about weekly deliveries of weapon systems for the Russian army from Uralvagonzavod, the enterprise has stopped working several times in the past almost six months.

Economic sanctions imposed by the west are part of the reason. The lack of materials, components, and such important chips causes serious difficulties in the production process of Uralvagonzavod. Burnt bodies and entire tanks are being returned for repair, but the plant can do little as the supply of metal has also dropped drastically.

BulgarianMilitary.com recalls that Uralvagonzavod was forced to send mobile repair teams to the front in Ukraine to repair on the spot the damaged engines of the combat armored vehicles – APCs, tanks, howitzers, etc.

U.S. technology exports to Russia have fallen nearly 70 percent since the sanctions began in late February, while more than 30 other countries have adopted similar export bans, Gina Raimondo told Congress.

More ‘inovations’

Although individual voices against the sanctions against Russia are already starting to be heard, one cannot fail to take into account the fact that precisely these sanctions, against the supply of raw materials, materials, and chips, are perhaps the most effective against Russian military production.

Downed Orlan-10 UAV: ​​water bottle instead of a real fuel tank
Photo: Twitter

Using components and parts from everyday products and integrating them into military systems is not unfamiliar territory for the Russians. BulgarianMilitary.com recalls that Ukrainians captured a Russian drone whose fuel tank was made from a plastic water bottle.


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