Chinese company supplies technology for Russian glide bombs

Investigation reveals electronic parts from a Chinese company owning a California facility continue flowing to Russia despite China's October export controls.

Dec 3, 2024 - 19:00

Chinese company supplies technology for Russian glide bombs

KAB-500Kr, illustrative image. Photo via Wikimedia.

A Chinese technology company that owns a California-based manufacturing facility has been identified as a supplier of electronic components found in the Russian guided bombs used in Ukraine. Radio Free Europe’s investigation reveals that Yangzhou Yangjie Electronic Technology Company Limited, headquartered near Shanghai, has shipped hundreds of batches of dual-use electronic components to Russia since February 2022.

The US and EU imposed sanctions on a number of Chinese companies that supply dual-use technology that helps the Russian military on the battlefield. Under this pressure, China in October adopted new export control rules to restrict exports of such goods to Russia. However, the flow of critical components appears to continue.

According to customs records verified by Washington-based nonprofit C4ADS, Yangjie Technology has made at least 238 shipments of electronic components to Russia, including deliveries to sanctioned Russian entities. Ukrainian military forces have discovered components manufactured by the company in Russian UMPK navigation modules, which are used to convert unguided bombs into precision-guided munitions.

It is with such aerial bombs that Russian troops practically level any positions, even fortified ones, and turn Ukrainian cities, such as Bakhmut or Avdiivka, into ruins.

In 2015, Yangjie Technology bought Micro Commercial Components (MCC), a semiconductor manufacturer based in California with research centers in Japan, China, and Taiwan. While MCC maintains it operates in strict compliance with US laws, its parent company has continued supplying critical electronic components to Russia throughout its war against Ukraine.

The investigation found that at least 17 shipments were made to Simetron Electronic Components, a Russian firm that was placed under US sanctions in May 2023. Despite these sanctions, deliveries continued through September 2023.

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