Russian developers of "Oreshnik" missile use Western technology - Financial Times
The Russian ballistic missile Oreshnik was manufactured at enterprises that use Western equipment.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by The Financial Times.
Two leading Russian institutes of weapons technology - the Moscow Institute of Heat Engineering (MIT) and the "Sozvezdie" concern - have placed an advert for employees familiar with metalworking systems from German and Japanese companies.
According to the publication, MIT's vacancies for 2024 state that the company uses systems from Japan's Fanuc and Germany's Siemens and Heidenhain. All three companies produce control systems for computer numerical control (NCM) machines.
"Sozvezdie" also uses similar equipment: in its job advertisement, the company required potential employees to know the NCM systems of these companies.
Another company involved in the production of Oreshnik, "Titan-Barikada", published a photo showing a worker standing in front of a device with a Fanuc logo. It is noted that even the "Stan" company, which is trying to develop Russian production of NCM machines, indicates in its advertisements that it uses Heidenhain equipment.
Russia has long relied on foreign machine tools, despite attempts to develop domestic alternatives. While the Kremlin has been buying large amounts of precision metalworking equipment from China, the controls to run it continue to be purchased in the West.
Although export controls have slowed the flow of these goods to Russia, according to the FT, at least $3 million worth of supplies, including Heidenhain components, have entered the country since the beginning of 2024, including to military manufacturers.
"Oreshnik" missile: what is known
The "Oreshnik" is a suspected Russian intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) that, according to the Ukrainian military, can reach speeds of over 12,300 km/h. The missile is equipped with six warheads, each of which reportedly contains submunitions. It is described as extremely difficult to intercept, although modern missile defence systems are designed to counter this type of weapon.
It is noted that the results of the study of the wreckage of the "Oreshnik" medium-range ballistic missile, which Russia had fired at Dnipro on 21 November, showed that it was not the latest development that had just been created.
The Financial Times claims that Russia did not strike the Dnipro with the "Oreshnik", but with a modified RS-26 "Rubezh" medium-range missile.
