Azov Optical-Mechanical Plant makes components for at least seven Russian missile programs

According to the investigators, internal documentation shows the plant was involved in the production chains of at least seven Russian missile programs. These include the Kh-101 strategic cruise missile, the R-37M air-to-air missile, the Kh-35U, the Kh-59/Kh-69, the Kh-31P, and the Oreshnik ballistic system.

Dallas Analytics obtained internal correspondence, government contract materials and cooperation schedules belonging to JSC Azov Optical-Mechanical Plant, registered in the Russian city of Azov. The documents cover the period from April 2023 to March 2025.

The materials include documents from AOMZ itself, the Tactical Missiles Corporation (KTRV), the Michurinsk Progress Plant and the Kurganpribor design bureau. In particular, a supply schedule lists more than 70 types of components. The total value of the component base for the 2025 program was 583.6 million rubles ($6.9 million), of which 497.6 million rubles ($5.9 million), according to the analysts, had already been paid as advances.

Separately, the documents reveal production volumes for flight automation units for the Kh-101, Kh-35U, and the Kh-59/Kh-69 family of missiles.

For the Kh-101, the investigators say, AOMZ manufactures two important components — the Otblesk navigation lidar and a flight automation block. The former is used for the missile's navigation, including under conditions where satellite navigation is jammed by electronic warfare. The latter supports the missile's onboard systems and drives its control surfaces.

The documents also list 44 component suppliers. These include enterprises producing capacitors, resistors, semiconductors, connectors, relays, optocouplers, and other components.

One of the microchip suppliers for the Kh-101's navigation system is listed as TRV-Engineering LLC, a procurement arm of the Tactical Missiles Corporation. According to Dallas Analytics, this company has previously appeared in investigations into the supply of foreign microelectronics to Russia.

In another set of documents, AOMZ is identified as an assembler and supplier of key components for "izdeliye 760K(L)," which, according to the analysts' identification, is a modification of the R-74 family of missiles used on Su-57 fighter jets.

The documents also indicate the plant's involvement in the production chain for the guidance system of the Oreshnik ballistic missile. Dallas Analytics had previously reported on the GU-503 gyroscopic unit used in this system.

According to the investigators, AOMZ is also involved in producing components for the R-37M missile. Russia plans to produce about 500 of these missiles a year.

The analysts note that halting the plant's operations could affect several areas of Russian missile production at once, including the output of the Kh-101, Kh-35U and Kh-59/Kh-69, production of the R-37M, and components for the Kh-31P missile, which is designed to target radar stations.

At the same time, Dallas Analytics stresses that disabling a single enterprise may only temporarily limit Russian production capacity. For a lasting effect, the analysts say, systemic pressure is needed on the supply chains that allow Russia to restore production.

As previously reported, the General Staff said Defense Forces units struck facilities of the Azov Optical-Mechanical Plant in the city of Azov, in Russia's Rostov Oblast, overnight into Sept. 26.

A fire was recorded at the plant's foundry, and equipment was damaged in five production buildings.