‘Dual-use’ case: Russian attack drone maker evades Western scrutiny

BERLIN — A Russian startup drone manufacturer has cashed in on the exploding demand for unmanned aerial vehicles spurred by the war in Ukraine, selling over 1,000 drones while working to avoid Western sanctions, according to documents reviewed by Defense News.

Integrated Robotics Technologies, located in southeastern Russia’s Bashkortostan Republic, is an example of how Russian companies have switched to a wartime economy orchestrated by Moscow to prosecute the invasion of Ukraine.

IRT is not named in sanctions by Western governments despite touting its lineup of surveillance and attack drones in its advertising materials, a marked switch from a marketing strategy previously aimed at the agricultural and energy markets. A presentation by the Bashkirian government, seen by Defense News, shows that in 2023 alone, IRT produced more than 1,000 UAVs.

The company’s portfolio includes several types of so-called kamikaze drones, cheap and disposable aircraft fitted with an explosive warhead that have become the hallmark of Ukraine war tactics. An operator can plunge them into vulnerable targets from afar with deadly precision. The vendor also markets a set of larger, more complex drones that it claims can stay in the air for 20 hours and cover up to 1,600 kilometers while producing high-quality aerial imagery – useful for energy pipeline inspections but also for surveilling the battlefield from afar.

It is likely that countless companies like IRT exist scattered across Russia. The case underscores the government’s concerted efforts to mitigate the effectiveness of Western sanctions imposed after attacking Ukraine. The campaign, still labeled a “special military operation” in Kremlin verbiage, has been burning through weapon stocks new and old at an unprecedented pace.

With the war in Ukraine in its third year, Russian businesses like IRT have come into the spotlight of Western authorities as they try to restrict the flow of components that could aid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts. In turn, Russia has been finding new ways to sustain its access to vital products, turning to China and setting up front companies in third countries like the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and in Central Asia, UN trade records and government information show.

IRT’s website does not explicitly mention a military dimension to its business, billing its drones instead as civilian tools. However, the company has participated in defense-oriented trade fairs since the war in Ukraine began in 2022.

“As they like to say now, it is dual-use,” quipped a press release by a regional trade show (archived here) covering IRT’s appearance at the event, referring to the company’s ostensibly agricultural tack.

The company did not return an email seeking comment on its defense-related activities.

A technology is dual-use when it was originally developed for civilian purposes but has significant warfare-related applications, says Robert Shaw, the program director for export control and nonproliferation at the California-based James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, a think tank that studies arms control and sanctions.

“IRT’s UAVs seem to fit this definition very well,” he said, “and especially kamikaze drones very clearly have military applications.”

Founded in September 2021, IRT describes itself in public appearances as an innovative company that hopes to advance Russian domestic drone-making abilities. It has hosted aerospace engineering events for local youth and counts around 20 employees, according to public records.

While a private company, Integrated Robotics Technologies has received money and contracts from Russian government entities. Public records show that the regional government of the Republic of Bashkortostan paid IRT eight times for consulting services in early 2022. Governmental support has since expanded through programs to boost domestic UAV production, including plans to build drone-related research centers, launch platforms and factories, all outlined in regional government meetings in 2023 and 2024

The plans are worth tens of billions of rubles (hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars), according to Republic of Bashkortostan government documents.

Eager to tout a  local drone champion, officials have kept tabs on the company’s fortunes: IRT had produced 1,049 drones of six different types in 2023 alone, according to a presentation from Jan. 15 of this year. Of these, 332 were of the Scout or Dark Wing varieties, marketed as suicide drones in the company’s product catalog. The company also built 14 long-range surveillance drones of the IRT-5 variety and hundreds of quad- and hexacopters.

It’s unclear to what extent an individual company like IRT would be affected by Western sanctions. On a national scale, though, there are indications that Moscow has struggled with supplanting some parts of its supply chains with local vendors, most notably in advanced semiconductors and similarly specialized components and tools.

Russian customs data seen by Defense News shows a handful of occasions in which Integrated Robotics Technologies has imported drone components and parts for a 3D printer from China.

Companies linked to IRT may also be involved in procuring components on its behalf, making it difficult to gauge the extent to which the company relies on foreign components. For example, the company appears to have close ties to a medium-sized chemical- and laboratory-equipment manufacturer.

“Russian defense-related procurement efforts are using a wide range of third countries to circumvent sanctions,” Shaw told Defense News. He said the procurement of 3D printing components is a notable detail. “Our research suggests that additive manufacturing is a particular area to watch, especially when it comes to UAV and missile production,” he said. Being linked to a chemical company might allow for producing specialized materials for drone-building or polymers for 3D printing, Shaw said.