Russian Kinzhal hypersonic missile manufacturer has not yet been sanctioned - The Insider investigation

This is stated in the investigation by The Insider.

The Kinzhal missiles are produced by the Kolomna Mechanical Engineering Design Bureau (KBM), which is part of the High Precision Systems holding of the state corporation Rostec. The Design Bureau is headed by 64-year-old Sergey Pitikov.

According to information on the Russian government procurement website, KBM receives thermal and cooling chambers manufactured by Espec from Moscow-based OSTEK-Test, which imported equipment from Poland during the war. The sender was Intertrans Sp. z o.o. from the city of Siedlce.

It is noted that a significant number of deliveries come from Germany. In particular, the lathes were supplied by KEB-Rus LLC, a partner of the German company KEB, an authorized supplier of components and developer of control systems for technological processes and equipment on their basis. During the war, KEB-Rus also imported cables from Germany.

The Insider reports that KBM receives handheld drills and other tools from the manufacturer Sandvik through LLC Svit Verstatnyka. The Russian defense contractor receives Sandvik products from IR-Logistik GMBH in Berlin. For example, in January of this year, a delivery of changeable working tools was made.

The Research Institute of Electronic Devices (NIIEP), also part of Rostec, is the developer of the "brains" for the Kinzhals. Its contractor is AT Radiant-EK, which also supplied integrated chips directly to KBM. Radiant-EK imports coils and tapes for protective packaging of electronic components from Germany (sender - Advantek Gmbh).

According to the investigators, another Russian company that has a state contract with the Research Institute of Electronic Devices and KBM is Sonatek LLC, which offers "modern measuring and metalworking equipment from leading world manufacturers." Sonatek has a wide range of European trading partners - UAB Breitto (Lithuania), Baltic Shipping Agency LTD Sp. z o.o. (Poland), UAB "CUST LT" (Lithuania), Hermis Ekspo SIA (Latvia), Groupe D'Investissement Financier SA (Belgium), Aberlink Ltd (UK), etc.

Earlier, The Insider reported on American chips from Texas Instruments, Analog Devices, and Altera that are used in the Kinzhals. Now it has emerged that the Moscow-based ETS Electronics LLC (established in 2021) imports chips for the manufacturers of these missiles through the Chinese company ETC Electronics Limited.

In addition, the investigation revealed that the daughter and grandchildren of the main Russian manufacturer of Kinzhals live in Sweden. In 2021, Maya Pitikova bought a house in the town of Rüdsgård near Malmö for about half a million euros. At the same time, the total annual income of the Russian woman and her partner is about 80 thousand euros per year. Last year, Pitikova also bought a Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus, which costs as much as her annual income.

• On the night of May 16, Russia launched an attack on Kyiv, using drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles, which was the eighth since the beginning of the month. The fall of wreckage was recorded in 5 districts.