Tracing Key Components Used in Russian Weapons

Join the CALCE/SMTA Counterfeit Parts and Materials Symposium 2022 for this and other informative presentations

Damien Spleeters

Conflict Armament Research

Introductory Invited Keynote Talk

Conflict Armament Research (CAR)  is an independent investigative organization based in the UK, established in 2011. CAR field investigation teams document weapons, ammunition, and other related material in conflict-affected locations, and trace their supply sources. In November 2021 CAR published  ‘Weapons of the War in Ukraine’, a three-year study to document and trace military equipment used by armed formations of the self-declared Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics (LPR/DPR) in Ukraine. This case study looks at six different models of Russian-manufactured military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs – commonly called ‘drones’) that CAR documented in Ukraine. CAR’s investigations found that the Russian military industry has been obtaining key components for these UAVs – such as GPS modules, electronic parts, cameras, and engines – from the US, Asia, the Middle East, and the European Union (EU), both before and after the start of the conflict in Ukraine in 2014, and despite an EU arms embargo on Russia.

In May 2022, CAR returned to Ukraine to document recently manufactured advanced weapon systems and communications equipment that the Russian Federation used in its war against Ukraine. The items included UAVs, military radios, electronic countermeasure and airborne defence systems, and remnants of cruise missiles. 

CAR’s documentation shows that these items contain components that were produced by companies based in Europe and the United States.

To find out more, and to read the full report, go to  https://ukraine-2021-itrace.hub.arcgis.com/.
 

Bio: Damien Spleeters has ten years of experience as a weapon investigator. Mr Spleeters started his career at Conflict Armament Research by investigating Islamic State weapons, explosive precursors, and improvised weapon components supply chains in Iraq and Syria. He has authored or po-authored a dozen public reports on the matter between 2014 and 2019. Mr Spleeters has been working in Ukraine since 2018, documenting and investigating the supply chains of components Found in Russian-made vehicles.