---
title: "The President's Office Showed the Foreign 'Innards' of Russia's Iskander and RM-48U Ballistic Missiles"
description: "The Office of the President revealed the origin of foreign components in Russia's Iskander and RM-48U ballistic missiles: French gyroscopes, American electronics, and CNC machine tools from seven countries."
date: 2026-08-26T12:40:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/op-reveals-foreign-components-in-iskander-and-rm-48u-missiles
tags: [ukraine, sanctions, ballistic-missiles, iskander, russia, defense-tech, cnc-machines]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# The President's Office Showed the Foreign 'Innards' of Russia's Iskander and RM-48U Ballistic Missiles

![Electronic circuit boards and control units extracted from Russian Iskander and RM-48U ballistic missiles, displayed at the Ukrainian President's Office](https://xab.info/media/2026/08/26/op-raskryl-zarubezhnye-komponenty-raket-iskander-i-rm-48u/op-raskryl-zarubezhnye-komponenty-raket-iskander-i-rm-48u-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- The Office of the President showed foreign components in the Iskander and RM-48U missiles: French laser gyroscopes in the 'Kometa' navigation system and mass American electronics.
- Russia depends on imports of tungsten, polybutadiene, and aramid fiber, as well as on precision CNC machine tools from the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, Japan, Sweden, and Italy.
- Components are often supplied through third countries, which complicates tracking; for the 'Oreshnik,' however, other data indicate that mostly Russian and Belarusian elements were found.

At a briefing in the Office of the President of Ukraine, the President's Commissioner for Sanctions Policy, Vladyslav Vlasyuk, presented the results of an analysis of components of Russian ballistic weapons — primarily the Iskander missile system and the RM-48U ballistic missile. According to him, even under years of restrictions, Russia has been unable to close the full production cycle and continues to use foreign electronics, materials, and precision equipment. A key direction of Kyiv's work, Vlasyuk said, is the maximum synchronization of sanctions measures against Russian ballistic missile manufacturers across different jurisdictions: 'One of the first items on our plan is maximum synchronization.'

### The 'Kometa' Navigation System and French Laser Gyroscopes

One of the critically important units dependent on foreign production, Vlasyuk named the 'Kometa' navigation module, which provides jamming-resistant navigation and is used for precise correction of ballistic missile guidance onto the target. Part of the autonomous inertial systems with laser gyroscopes has historically relied on French components. According to experts working on the disassembly of Russian missiles, it is precisely the French component that is used in the RM-48U ballistic missile, and a laser gyroscope of the same origin is also used in the Iskander missile system.

### Fuel, Casings, and Dependence on Imported Materials

Separate attention at the presentation was given to the constituents of rocket fuel, casings, and guidance heads. According to Vlasyuk, Russia does not have sufficient domestic production and depends on the import of critically important materials — including tungsten, polybutadiene, and aramid fiber. On all these points, as noted in the Office of the President, full information has already been passed to partners, and Kyiv is awaiting corresponding sanctions decisions. Among the enterprises involved in the production of components for rocket fuel was the 'Kamensky Combine,' which, according to Vlasyuk, produces thickeners for the polymerization of rocket fuel. This Russian defense industry enterprise produces solid rocket fuel for the 'Uragan,' 'Smerch,' and 'Tornado-S' multiple launch rocket system munitions, as well as for rocket and aviation weapons; the combine was struck on the night of August 16.

### CNC Machine Tools and Evasion of Restrictions via Third Countries

Machine tool building was not overlooked at the briefing either: the production of ballistic missiles, Vlasyuk said, depends on precision metalworking machine tools with computer numerical control. Their components — CNC modules, servo drive and measurement systems, precision bearing units, machining monitoring and balancing systems — are supplied by manufacturers from the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, Japan, Sweden, and Italy. The peculiarity of such machine tools, Vlasyuk emphasized, is that their components can be supplied through third countries, which significantly complicates tracking: 'Machine tools are often supplied with many components that are assembled or supplied as components through third countries. Therefore, they are difficult to track.'

### List of Foreign Companies in the Missiles

The presentation showed a list of foreign companies whose products are found in Russian ballistic weapons. The leader in the number of components was the United States — due to the high requirements of ballistic missiles for the quality and characteristics of electronics. Among the American manufacturers were named Advanced Micro Devices, Analog Devices, ATMEL, Bourns, Burr-Brown, Coilcraft, Cortina Systems, Cypress, Diodes Incorporated, MaxLinear, Microchip Technology, Micron Technology, ON Semiconductor, Qorvo, Skyworks, Xilinx, Fairchild Semiconductor, FOX Electronics, Hittite, Holt Integrated Circuits, Integrated Silicon Solution, Intel Altera, Kemet, Linear Technology, Maxim Integrated, and others. Components also originate from Taiwan (TSMC, Winbond, Macronix International, DM&P Electronics, SYNTEC Technology), Japan (Murata Manufacturing, Kyocera AVX Components, Panasonic Semiconductor, Elna Co., LTD, Renesas), Switzerland (STMicroelectronics, u-blox, TRACO POWER), France (3SP Technologies), the United Kingdom (Renishaw), and China (Simchip, Elitestek). Vlasyuk emphasized that the issue of foreign components concerns not only the missiles themselves but the entire production cycle: 'Ukraine has also passed to all partners information on materials such as chemical and other substances and on means of production.'

### Contradictory Data

A significant discrepancy arises when comparing the conclusions on different systems. If French and numerous American components are recorded for the Iskander and RM-48U (according to some estimates — more than 30 US-made items in a single system), then, according to data cited following the study of the 'Oreshnik' missile, predominantly Russian and Belarusian components were found in it. Thus, the degree of foreign dependence varies depending on the specific system: for the Iskander and RM-48U it is confirmed by the disassembly of the 'innards,' whereas for the 'Oreshnik' the picture looks different. Moreover, the entire body of facts about the components relies on the Ukrainian analysis of disassembled and struck items and statements by the Office of the President, rather than on independent international expertise, which should be taken into account when assessing the completeness of the picture.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [USA, France, Japan: the Office of the President revealed the origin of components in Russian ballistic missiles](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/ssha-frantsiya-poniya-op-rozkrili-pohodzhennya-1787747869.html) - Первичный источник брифинга Власюка: навигация «Комета», французские гироскопы, список компаний, станки с ЧПУ, «Комбинат Каменский».
- [Fresh components and foreign technologies: what the studies of the 'Oreshnik' and 'Iskander-M' showed](https://www.unian.net/weapons/rossiyskie-rakety-vlasyuk-rasskazal-o-rezultatah-issledovaniya-iskander-m-i-oreshnika-13444014.html) - Подтверждает линию исследований компонентов «Искандера» и «Орешника».
- ['Iskander' contains more than 30 US-made components: the Office of the President on the strike on the Kamensky Combine](https://www.bagnet.org/news/society/1388076/iskander-soderzhit-bolee-30-komponentov-proizvodstva-ssha-op-ob-udare-po-kabminu) - Уточняет количество американских компонентов в «Искандере» (30+).
- [Only Russian and Belarusian components were found in the Oreshnik](https://korrespondent.net/ukraine/4895098-v-oreshnyke-nashly-tolko-rossyiskye-y-belorusskye-komponenty) - Расходящаяся версия по «Орешнику»: только российские и белорусские компоненты — отражено в разделе противоречий.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: What foreign components were found in the Iskander and RM-48U?
**A:** According to the Office of the President, the 'Kometa' navigation module uses French laser gyroscopes (in the RM-48U and the Iskander), while much of the electronics is American (AMD, Analog Devices, Micron, Xilinx, and others).

### Q: What is Russia dependent on in ballistic missile production?
**A:** According to Vlasyuk, it depends on imports of tungsten, polybutadiene, aramid fiber, as well as precision CNC machine tools and their components from the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, Japan, Sweden, and Italy.

### Q: Why is it difficult to track such supplies?
**A:** Components for machine tools and electronics are often routed through third countries, which complicates control over the end recipient.

### Q: Are there discrepancies in the data on different missiles?
**A:** Yes: foreign components are recorded for the Iskander and RM-48U, whereas for the 'Oreshnik,' according to one version, predominantly Russian and Belarusian elements were found.