NAKO has identified antennas supplied by the Irish company Taoglas in the wreckage of Russian glide bombs. The patch antenna arrays cost just $7 each and are an important component in allowing Russian bombs to evade Ukrainian electronic warfare (EW). Russia needs so many antennas for their weapons (and that’s not just KABs, but also drones) that it is cheaper and easier to import them from abroad. Between 2022 and 2024 Taoglas products worth around $753 000 were imported into Russia mostly from suppliers in China, Hong Kong, India and Turkey.
Taoglas said it has sold millions of its antenna worldwide and has imposed a ban on directly trading with Russia since the start of the invasion in 2022. However, it cannot stop third parties from breaching international sanctions and selling the antenna to the Russian military. “We have co-operated with the Irish and US governments on this and hence implemented additional screening processes and partner with them now on trying to maximise compliance.”
Read the NAKO investigation on The Irish Times.