American processors were found in Iranian kamikaze drones
Iran’s Shahed-131 kamikaze drones contain processors manufactured by the American company Texas Instruments.
This is stated in the information of the Department of Strategic Communications of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Censor.NET reports with reference to Economic Pravda.
The Shahed-131 drones, as reported by the Ukrainian publication Defense Express, are the previous version of the Shahed-136 – drones with which the Russians attacked Odesa and Mykolaiv in recent days. Both versions have a similar principle of action. Most likely, they are also maximally unified in terms of basic components, primarily electronics.
According to a document released by the U.S. Army, the flight control unit (FCU) contained five custom-made printed circuit boards (PCBs) that contained TMS320 F28335 processors from Texas Instruments. Although the company, among other things, develops products for the defense sector, Defense Express notes that the processors found in the Shahed-131 are freely available on the market.
In addition, the engine control unit (ECU) contained one printed circuit board with a Texas Instruments processor - this module is estimated to control all engine characteristics during flight.
Let us emphasize that it is known for sure about attacks on Ukrainian cities by the newer version of Shahed-136. Instead, their affinity with the Shahed-131 suggests the possibility of Iran using similar components in more modern versions.
So far, several cases of the enemy's use of Iranian drones have been recorded, the effectiveness of such weapons is being studied, and countermeasures are being organized.
