Western Chips Power Russia’s New Geran 5 Drone

Russia’s drone program just revealed another uncomfortable truth for the West. Even under heavy sanctions, American and European microchips are still showing up inside Russian weapons, this time inside a new high speed attack drone called the Geran 5, as Kyiv Independent reports.

As we previously wrote on DroneXL, Ukrainian forces shot down two of these drones in January, and what investigators found inside tells a familiar story, one where export controls exist on paper while silicon quietly slips through back doors across Asia.

Geran 5 Is Faster And More Dangerous

The Geran 5 is not just another Shahed copy with a new paint job. Unlike earlier Geran models that resemble slow flying delta wing drones, this one looks and behaves more like a small cruise missile.

Ukrainian military intelligence says the Geran 5 is based on Iran’s Karrar design and can reach speeds between 500 and 600 kilometers per hour. That is roughly three times faster than the Geran 2, which already caused serious problems for Ukrainian air defenses.

At that speed, reaction time shrinks, interception becomes harder, and the cost of defense climbs fast. One drone was downed in Kyiv Oblast, the other near Dnipro, and while one was badly damaged, the second remained intact enough to expose its electronic guts.

American And European Chips Inside

Inside the Geran 5, Ukrainian intelligence identified a Chinese made Telefly turbojet engine paired with a satellite navigation system built around Western microelectronics.

The chips found include components from Texas Instruments, CTS Corporation, Monolithic Power Systems, and Germany based Infineon Technologies. Texas Instruments chips appeared most frequently, with six identified in a single drone.

Two CTS clock oscillators stood out for one reason. Their manufacturing dates. One was produced in February 2024 and another in September 2025. These are not leftovers from pre war stockpiles gathering dust in a warehouse.

This matters because it confirms that Western technology is still flowing into Russia right now, not leaking from old reserves.

Despite U.S. and EU companies officially exiting the Russian market in 2022, their components continue to appear in drones, missiles, and guidance systems used nightly against Ukrainian cities.

How The Chips Get There Anyway

Sanctions did not stop the flow. They rerouted it.

According to customs data reviewed by Ukrainian investigators, Western microchips reach Russia primarily through traders based in China and Hong Kong, with smaller volumes passing through the UAE, Turkey, and Central Asia.

Russian companies like Niokr Trade openly advertise access to imported electronic components while sourcing them from Chinese and Hong Kong distributors. Other firms bypass Russian intermediaries entirely and import directly from Asian suppliers.

This network supplies both civilian manufacturers and defense contractors, including companies linked to strike drones like Lancet and Orion, systems that have become routine tools on the battlefield.

Ukrainian sanctions officials estimate Russia imported roughly 2.2 million electronic components in 2025 alone. That number closely tracks the explosive growth in Russian drone production, which reached nearly 3,000 Shahed type drones per month last year.

Without these chips, that scale would collapse.

DroneXL’s Take

The Geran 5 is not just a faster drone. It is proof that sanctions without enforcement are more suggestion than barrier. Every time a Western chip shows up inside a Russian weapon, it undercuts political statements and exposes how fragile global supply chain controls really are.

Drones have become software, sensors, and power management wrapped in airframes, and as long as those brains remain easy to buy through third party markets, the battlefield will keep absorbing civilian tech at industrial speed.

This is no longer just a military story. It is a drone industry reality check, one where flight controllers, oscillators, and power chips quietly decide how modern wars are fought.

Photo credit: The Kyiv Independent

Last update on 2026-01-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API