Russia Will Overcome Dependence on Imported Military Electronics by 2020

MOSCOW, December 25 (Sputnik) — Almost all key electronic components of Russian military hardware will be produced domestically by 2020, eliminating Moscow's dependency on foreign products, the CEO of Russian United Instrument Corporation (UIC), said in an interview to RIA Novosti.

"By 2020, 95 percent of key components of our [military] technology will be domestically produced," Alexander Yakunin said.

The executive noted that in 2011-2012, Russia's dependence on foreign components was estimated at 80-85 percent. However, currently all strategic level technology is Russian, he said.

The line of microprocessors, jointly developed by the UIC and Russian T-Platforms Company, will become one of the "real breakthrough" achievements in electronics import substitution in 2015, according to Yakunin.

"A completely Russian-produced computer and telecommunication technology, built on the basis of domestically produced components, with purely our [Russian] software and circuitry, protected from unauthorized interference and secret information access, will be the result of the joint project. Very soon, this project will get to the stage of mass production," Yakunin stated.

Following Crimea’s reunification with Russia in March, the West introduced several rounds of sanctions against Moscow, aimed at weakening Russia’s economy and specifically its defense industry. Moscow began to focus on eliminating dependency on military imports, and this has given a number of Russian industries the incentive to work on import substitution in many sectors of the economy.

In July, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Russia's defense industry would benefit from the sanctions, as the country would have no option but to develop its own production.