Russia reduces reliance on U.S. parts in Shahed drones, Ukraine’s intelligence says

Among nearly 200 new parts and components used in six categories of Russian weaponry are a CRP antenna for the Russian Shahed drone, the North Korean KN-24 ballistic missile, a computer from the Kh-47 Kinzhal missile, and drones branded Zincam and Sapelcam S3.

According to HUR, just two American-made chips were found in new CRP antennas used in the Geran-2 drone, pointing to Russia’s ongoing efforts to reduce reliance on components from sanctioning countries.

Earlier, Ukraine’s intelligence service noted that Shahed drones deployed by Russia in 2025 were equipped with new protected antennas marked in Chinese. In one such antenna, only two of 15 components were made by American companies — Texas Instruments and Linear Technologies.

“Most of the other components are manufactured in China. These include transceivers, signal generators, converters, and other microchips. For example, the primary CRP chip that processes incoming signals and determines which ones to ignore is made by Beijing Microelectronics Technology Institute (BMTI),” the agency said.

In addition, Ukrainian intelligence reported that a component of Indian origin — a clock buffer from Aura Semiconductor — was detected for the first time in Russian weapons.

“Two other components have not yet been identified,” the statement added, “but they are likely of Chinese origin.”