It’s September 2022. The full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the occupiers is in full play. Russian businessman Amir Valiyev, CEO of AFM, presents a new modification of a drone with the “Ptero” system in the Russian city of St. Petersburg. In this video, Valiyev admits that the drone, even during the full-scale invasion, can perform its tasks solely thanks to the American navigation system produced by the US company Iridium.
Watch our video on YouTube to get the idea about the main discoveries our team made as a result of this media investigation.
Key points:
• A company of the Russian military-industrial complex (MIC) still uses navigation systems made by the American company Iridium. Even after the start of the full-scale invasion, the businesses did not stop cooperating, which means that American Iridium is directly helping Russia in its military aggression against Ukraine.
• In addition, one of Iridium’s offices still operates in Moscow.
• The Cartographer drone, used by Russia in war against Ukraine, is filled with foreign-made components. The key high-tech elements of this equipment are manufactured by companies in Germany, the United States, and Japan.
Iridium, mentioned by Valiyev, is a global satellite communications company that provides access to data transmission services anywhere in the world, including Russia. And there, in Russia, right in Moscow, Iridium still has a functioning office.
According to trade databases, in 2015-2022, the Russian company Iridium Communications purchased products directly from the US company Iridium Satellite. In 2023, Iridium Communications imported machines made by Iridium Satellite for receiving and converting voice and images. This time it happened indirectly through some unknown companies.
Besides, in 2022, the Moscow-based Iridium Communications signed a contract with the central communication hub of the National Guard of Russia (Rosgvardiya), under which the company was to connect the Rosgvardiya to the international satellite radio communication system. This was discovered from the tender documentation.
Back in May 2014, Iridium announced possible problems due to the sanctions imposed on Russian businesses, but, as we see so far, after over 8 years of the hybrid aggression and 1.5 years of the full-scale war in Ukraine, no sanctions have affected Iridium’s cooperation with Russia. Moreover, according to the Ukrainian National Agency on Corruption Prevention, the Moscow subsidiary of the American company has valid contracts for satellite communications services to the armed forces of Russia.
Amir Valiyev owns 65% of AFM-Servers.This is the company that produces drones with the Iridium navigation system. This business directly helps Russian military operations against Ukraine and regularly cooperates with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). According to the data gathered by investigators of the Ukrainian media Trap Aggressor project, it was from 2013 until 2015 only that AFM-Servers signed contracts worth almost 100 million rubles with military unit 55056. This is an FSB unit that deals with material and technical support. AFM-Servers were sanctioned in July 2023 by Ukraine. However, the company remains un-sanctioned by Ukraine’s partners despite its heavy involvement with the Russian military and special services.
The Russian company AFM-Servers manufactured the Kartograf (Cartographer) drone that Ukrainian soldiers recently found near the border with the enemy.
Recently, one of these samples was downed near the border with Russia, in the Sumy region. For the first time, experts got such an exhibit for research in an almost undamaged form. And the most interesting thing is what’s inside the device. The Kartograf is literally stuffed with Western components. There is nothing Russian inside — only the body and the parachute are made in Russia.
Oleksandr (real name and surname are concealed for security reasons), a forensic expert in explosive research and in artillery and missile weapons, has been studying military equipment components for many years. After the beginning of the full-scale war, he received dozens of new samples. Now the expert is convinced that without European and American components, Russia would not be able to produce weapons at all.
Here are the components we were able to identify: a spark plug made by the Japanese company NGK, DIGI XBee wireless connection modules by the US company DIGI international, and chips made by Xilinx, also from the US. According to experts, the drone’s engine is made in Germany.