An examination of guided rockets from russia’s Tornado-S multiple launch rocket system, used in its war against Ukraine, has uncovered the simultaneous use of two fiber-optic gyroscopes for improved targeting accuracy. One of these is the TIUS500 unit, manufactured by russian Optolink company, while the other is an unmarked foreign device with indicator seals in Chinese, resembling products from China’s BWSENSING.
Both gyroscopes utilize three Sagnac ring interferometers arranged along orthogonal axes, paired with electronic control boards. However, their electronics differ: russian module is built around the American Altera Cyclone’s FPGA, while foreign one uses Swiss STMicroelectronics’ microcontroller.
Despite sanctions, russian module incorporates components from the U.S. (Analog Devices, National Semiconductor, Maxim Integrated), China (Panwoo Equipment Consulting, Mornsun), Switzerland (STMicroelectronics), and the UK (Golledge Electronics). This highlights ongoing supply chain vulnerabilities that allow russia to integrate foreign technology into its precision-guided munitions.
As News Hub previously reported, New War&Sanctions Dataset Reveals Foreign Components and Latest Shahed-136 Modifications.