In Russia, it is necessary to develop a domestic electronic component base to supply high-tech weapons, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated.
“All modern, and especially prospective, types of weapons are becoming increasingly demanding on the efficiency of the electronic component base. Obviously, the Russian army must be equipped with smart technology based on our own solutions,” Putin said at a meeting on the development of domestic integrated electronics. The Moscow Times reports.
He cited the United States, China, and EU countries as examples, which are striving to “strengthen sovereignty” in this area and avoid dependence on foreign supplies.
“It is absolutely clear to everyone: ensuring economic and technological development, technological leadership in artificial intelligence, space, communications, digital technologies, and quantum computing is not just difficult, it is impossible without competitive integrated circuits and an electronic component base,” Putin emphasized.
He also noted that such technologies are among the most complex and knowledge-intensive.
Despite sanctions, Russia continues to use foreign components in its weapons, including missiles it has used against Ukraine. This has been repeatedly reported in Kyiv after analyzing missile debris. After a large-scale airstrike in October 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that 102,785 foreign-made components from companies in the US, China, Taiwan, the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Korea, and the Netherlands were found in 549 Russian weapons. Specifically, over 100,000 components were found in strike drones, about 1,500 in Iskander missiles, 405 in Kalibr missiles, and 192 in Kinzhal missiles.
Earlier reports from Kyiv noted that about 70% of foreign components in Russian missiles came from American companies. This was confirmed by investigations from The New York Times and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. It was noted that to bypass sanctions, Russia began purchasing components through intermediaries in third countries, mainly China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia.
Meanwhile, the production of microelectronics and electronic components in Russia has declined for the second consecutive year, the Association of Electronics Developers and Manufacturers (ARPE) reported. In 2025, domestic products were sold for 74.9 billion rubles, about 26% of the total Russian microelectronics market. According to ARPE Executive Director Ivan Pokrovsky, demand for domestic components comes mainly from defense industry enterprises, but they are reducing purchases due to cuts in state defense procurement funding. Pokrovsky also noted that the share of foreign components in the defense sector is increasing as new generations of military equipment are introduced.
Earlier, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin stated that more than 250 billion rubles from the federal budget are planned for the development of the electronics industry in 2026–2028. In the previous three years, state investments in the sector exceeded 300 billion rubles.
