American CPUs found in Iran-made kamikaze drones
ECONOMICHNA PRAVDA — MONDAY, 26 SEPTEMBER 2022, 14:53
Iran-made Shahed-131 kamikaze drones contain processors manufactured by Texas Instruments, the U.S. company.
This is stated in the information posted by the Department of Strategic Communications of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Ukrainian outlet Defense Express reports that Shahed-131 drones are the early version of the Shahed-136, the drones that Russians used during recent attacks on Odesa and Mykolaiv. Both versions have similar modes of operation. Most likely, they are virtually the same in terms of basic components, primarily, electronics.
According to a document published by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the flight control unit (FCU) contained five custom-made printed circuit boards (PCBs) that contained TMS320 F28335 processors from Texas Instruments. Although the company develops products for the defence sector among other things, Defense Express notes that the processors found in the Shahed-131 are available on the market.
The engine control unit (ECU) contained one printed circuit board with a Texas Instruments processor in it; this module is supposed to control all engine characteristics during flight.
It is known for sure that a newer version of Shahed-136 was used during the recent attacks on Ukrainian cities. Instead, their similarity with the Shahed-131 suggests Iran could be using similar components in more modern versions.
So far, several cases of the use of Iran-made drones by Russia have been detected; the effectiveness of such weapons is being studied, and countermeasures are being organised.
Background:
- On 22 September, the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed seven UAVs that belonged to Russian invaders; four of them were the Iran-made Shahed kamikaze drones.
- A Ukrainian anti-aircraft defence unit shot down an Iran-made Shahed-136 kamikaze drone that Russianshad used to attack Mykolaiv.
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