Russia buys back parts for tanks and missiles that it exported to India and Myanmar

Russia is suspected of purchasing telescopes, cameras and night vision equipment that it had previously exported to Myanmar and India for use in its own tanks and missiles.

This was reported by Nikkei Asia, after analyzing customs clearance data on shipments to Russia made available by US research specialist ImportGenius, Exim Trade Data of India and other sources. It found records of Russian buybacks of parts for tanks and missiles exported to Myanmar and India.

Russia may have re-imported components to upgrade its 5,000-strong tank fleet.

The United States, European countries, and Japan have banned the export of goods with potential military use to Russia since the latter invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

For example, UralVagonZavod, which manufactures tanks for the Russian army, imported military products from the Myanmar army for $24 million on December 9, 2022. The components were registered as being made by Uralvagonzavod.

The HS codes for the reimported goods indicate that the company has repurchased 6,775 sights and 200 cameras for installation in the tanks. Russia is said to have relied on Western technology to produce optical equipment and now appears to be struggling to procure necessary components as a result of the trade sanctions.

The reference to “imported under the reclamation law” is found in customs clearance data. Uralvagonzavod exported military products to Myanmar Army in 2019; The reference indicates that the items returned were defective. “Any defective products had to be replaced when discovered in a full inspection conducted at the time of import,” Kenichi Nishimura, a military analyst who previously served at the Japanese Ministry of Defense, told the outlet.

“For collateral recovery, that would be, as far as I know, an extraordinary amount,” said Jakob Janowski of Oryx, a Dutch defense intelligence analysis website.

The Russian Machine-Building Design Bureau (NPK KBM), which is in charge of missile production, purchased a total of six night vision components for surface-to-air missiles for $150,000 from India in August-November 2022. All parts are manufactured by NPK KBM, which are necessary to ensure The missile’s ability to operate at night and in low light, which exported the same type of parts to India in February 2013.

Russia may have re-imported the parts for repair, but there were no records of items being returned to India as of the end of March this year.

And called on the leaders of the Group of Seven at their summit in Hiroshima, Japan last month, other countries to end military support to Russia. “It’s hard to get cooperation from countries that rely on Russian-made weapons,” said Nobumasa Akiyama, a professor who studies arms control at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo.