Russia's Kremniy El was completely paralyzed due to drone attacks.
According to reports, Russia's largest chip manufacturer Kremniy El microelectronics manufacturing plant has suspended production due to attacks by Ukrainian drones. The scale of this attack is unprecedented, with a total of six attacks taking place. The current attack has caused the factory's production activities to be suspended and completely paralyzed.
The Kremniy El factory is located in the city of Bryansk, and the city and the factory have been targeted by Ukraine many times. In just the past three months, the factory has been attacked twice, with the last attack occurring at the end of October 2024.
In this attack, the fighting over the Bryansk region was fierce. The Russian army shot down a total of 37 drones. Six of the attacks were directed at the Kremniy El factory, causing serious damages. The factory was shut down, some buildings and warehouses storing finished products were damaged, and the production chain was also disrupted.
Thankfully, there have been no reports of casualties so far. However, the Kremniy El factory has not yet given a timetable for the resumption of production. The specific amount of damage caused by the attack and the number of finished products that were partially or completely destroyed are also unknown.
18 billion rubles, Kremniy El’s Expansion Plan
Kremniy El is one of the largest microelectronics companies in Russia, with 815 customers nationwide and over 1700 employees. Approximately 90% of its products are used in the production of military components, including parts for Pantsir and S-500 missile systems, as well as Kalibr cruise missiles.
Kremniy El mainly produces semiconductor devices, integrated circuit chips and power modules. Various types of integrated circuit chip products provide key control and computing functions for Russian military products such as air defense systems and missile systems; power modules of various power levels can provide stable power supply for electronic equipment.
Due to the importance of Kremniy El, the Russian Federation's military-industrial complex has invested approximately US$5.5 million in the company every year since 2010. After 2014, the company has shouldered the important task of solving the problem of import substitution, and the investment has naturally increased. According to Kremniy El's 2014 report, output has increased eightfold since 2000, with IC and transistor output ranking first in Russia, and output expected to be 7 million units that year.
Just in early November 2024, Kremniy El had just announced an investment plan of more than 18 billion rubles. The purpose of the funds is clearly stipulated in this plan, of which 12 billion rubles will be used to shift to 150 mm (6-inch) silicon wafer production to reduce costs and carry out research and development of silicon carbide microchips; 4.2 billion rubles will be used to reduce the microchip process node to 350 nanometers to improve the sophistication and performance of chip manufacturing; 2.1 billion rubles will be used to expand the product line of power modules and enrich product categories to meet market needs in more fields.
240 billion rubles, Russian semiconductor investment plan
With the continuous escalation of export controls, the difficulty of manufacturing chips and microelectronics in Russia has gradually increased, and the cost of acquiring key semiconductor equipment has increased by 40% to 50%. However, the process technology of Russia's local chip manufacturers is still stuck at mature nodes such as 65nm or 90nm, and it relies heavily on foreign semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Among 400 types of chip manufacturing tools, Russia's local manufacturing accounts for only 12%.
It is worth noting that Russia’s domestic chip production was previously limited to two large companies-Mikron and Angstrem-T. Angstrom-T declared bankruptcy in December 2024 due to its inability to repay a huge debt of US$9.9 million, which undoubtedly made the development of Russian semiconductors even worse.
In order to reduce chip production costs and dependence on foreign tools, as of October 2024, the Russian government has allocated more than 240 billion rubles to support the research and development of equipment, CAD tools and raw materials required for domestic semiconductor manufacturing. The goal is to replace approximately 70% of semiconductor equipment and materials from abroad by 2030.
It is reported that the plan was formulated by the Russian Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Trade, and the National Research University of Electronic Technology (MIET). It involves multiple links in semiconductor manufacturing: technical equipment, materials and chemicals, and computer-aided design (CAD) systems. The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade is also completing work on a separate plan to accelerate local production of key components for semiconductor equipment.
Currently, there are more than 50 participating organizations in the plan. It is expected to launch 110 R&D projects and develop 20 different technology routes, covering microelectronics, microwave electronics, photonics, power electronics and other fields from 180nm to 28nm, to build a more complete semiconductor system.
Through this plan, Russia hopes to achieve domestic production of 65nm technology by 2030, be able to independently produce lithography systems for 65nm or 90nm process wafers, and eventually use 28nm process technology to manufacture chips. By the end of 2026, domestic equipment will be used to produce single crystals, cut silicon wafers, grind and polish, wash and dry, apply elements and control output products (X-ray diffractometer, defect control); Complete the development of lithography equipment for 350nm and 130nm process technologies, as well as electron beam lithography equipment for 150nm production nodes, and master the epitaxial process.
