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Sergei Chemezov, the longtime CEO of Russia’s state defense conglomerate Rostec, is a close ally of Vladimir Putin, with whom he served in the KGB in East Germany in the 1980s. Photo: RIA Novosti
On Oct. 8, the Black Mirror hacker group released the second part of an archive belonging to Russian state-owned defense corporation Rostec. This tranche contains more than 300 documents, including internal memos, contracts, and letters.
Most notably, a document addressed to Rostec CEO Sergei Chemezov includes a proposal to establish contacts with “a group of companies from the People’s Republic of China” for the development, production, and supply of electronic warfare (EW) systems.
The document does not name specific companies, but it notes that the group includes a manufacturing enterprise, a logistics firm, an insurance company, and, most notably, a research institute that is involved in developing modern EW technologies.
According to a file that appears to be based on a request from the Russian Defense Ministry, Chinese-made systems were tested during the war in Ukraine. Chinese scientists were also tasked with developing systems capable of detecting drones operating on 4G mobile communication frequencies and countering Starlink systems.
Another file contains information that Rostec specialists “established a channel for obtaining technical data on the electronic component base (ECB) produced in China.” The Black Mirror hackers described this as, in effect, “a report on a successful act of industrial espionage” against China.
Other documents include details of Rostec’s trade agreements with foreign customers, such as contracts for the supply and repair of equipment — for example, Ka-28 helicopters and Su-34E fighter jets.
One confidential file contains proposals from Russian Helicopters JSC to shorten delivery times for helicopter parts to foreign customers and to streamline overall logistics. The company suggested using warehouse facilities in the United Arab Emirates:
“The choice of the UAE as the location for the spare parts warehouse is due to the extremely high level of development of the logistics infrastructure (high accessibility of maritime and air transport), as well as the presence of favorable tax and customs regimes for doing business in the country,” the memo says.
Black Mirror published the first part of the Rostec archive on Oct. 2. That release included materials concerning Russia’s military-technical cooperation with foreign clients, pricing for military products, and logistics schemes aimed at coping with life under sanctions.