“Vazhnye istorii” told about the purchase of foreign components by the drone manufacturer “Lancet”

The manufacturer of Russian kamikaze drones “Lancet”, actively used by the Russian army in Ukraine, continues to import western components, including American ones. The company’s network of suppliers can be used to circumvent sanctions. This is stated in the “Important Stories” investigation.

Lancet drones are produced by Zala Aero Group, the controlling owner of the company with a 50.85 percent share is Izhevsk businessman Alexander Zakharov, the remaining share belongs to the Kalashnikov concern. Zakharov’s son and daughter Nikita and Maria, who are the largest suppliers of the drone manufacturer, are also involved in the business.

From the documents studied by “Important Histories”, it follows that the manufacturer “Lancetov” buys electronics in Uzbekistan and China. One of the company’s suppliers reports that he has “arranged supplies from several dozen European and Asian manufacturers.” It is known that the plant receives at least the products of the American manufacturer of Nvidia processors and the manufacturer of electronic boards Hitech Global.

The company’s legal entity, TsST LLC, sold its drones to the military for 5.3 billion rubles in 2022–2023 alone. At the same time, the company is not included in the sanctions lists of the USA and the European Union. It is known that at least dozens of units of Ukrainian army equipment were damaged or destroyed by Lancet drones. Including radars of air defense complexes, artillery guns and armored vehicles.