Russian arms industry under fire for buying from Iran and North Korea

Russia is buying weapons from North Korea and Iran: its arms industry can no longer deliver

How can a country that promises fifth-generation fighters be buying drones from Iran and artillery shells from North Korea? That is the question hanging over the analysis of Russia's industrial debacle that has come to light in recent months. The answer, according to the material circulating, is uncomfortable: it cannot. The country that once sold futuristic weapons to half the world is turning to states with inherited technology to sustain a war it is struggling to win.

The latest indicator, according to the initial framing of the issue, is the purchase of ammunition from North Korea, which adds to the earlier acquisition of military drones from Iran. For the analysts cited, it confirms that global sanctions have severely restricted Russian supply chains and forced Moscow to knock on the doors of the states the international consensus shuns.

The Su-75 Checkmate and other weapons that never reach the battlefield

The Su-75 Checkmate, presented in Moscow as the fighter of the future, is the most visible example of the gap between the shop window and the factory. According to the diagnosis that opens the conversation, there is one non-functional full-scale prototype and a dozen demonstration units of the aircraft. Nothing like the mass production needed to equip an army at war.

The problem is not only that the ultra-futuristic developments are a mirage, some voices point out. The worst part is the inability to produce quality conventional weapons in sufficient quantities. And that is where the industrial figure comes in: according to a calculation circulating in the debate, the arms industry accounts for around **20% of Russian industrial output**, so a collapse of the sector would not stay confined to the military sphere but would hit the civilian economy head-on.

Why is North Korea a relevant supplier for Russia?

Because it manufactures ammunition compatible with the Soviet systems Russia still holds but no longer produces to the same extent. The North Korean munitions are probably copies of Soviet-era weapons that fit Russian launchers, according to the information available. North Korea could represent the largest source of compatible legacy artillery ammunition outside Russia, including domestic production facilities to obtain further supplies.

The quality, however, is another matter. One example cited in the analysis: of the 300 to 400 North Korean shells fired at the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong in 2010, only 80 hit their target. The rest fell into the sea. A performance described as perversos, one the Russians may experience firsthand.

The brain drain strangling Russian military technology

On top of the embargoes, which force Russia to source chips from Western household appliances to build weapons, there is a problem with longer-lasting consequences: the loss of human capital. The Russian government went as far as banning engineers and scientists from leaving the country, with instructions to border guards to detain IT experts.

The hemorrhage is not new. Back in the 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, much of the scientific and research staff with connections emigrated to the United States or Europe, as argued in the debate. The average age of the Russian researcher is around 50, compared with 30 in the United States and China, according to the figures being used. With no generational renewal, both the military and civilian industries will carry that burden for decades.

The paper-tiger army and the debate over the numbers

The conversation drifts toward comparing capabilities. Some argue that the German, British, French, Swedish, Belgian and even Spanish arms industries are more powerful than North Korea's, which puts the value of the new supplier into perspective. Others recall that until recently the United States was considered the leading military power and Russia the second, only to discover now that the second was a paper tiger that collapses as soon as it is squeezed.

Some also point to the energy context: Russia is rich in raw materials that need commercial outlets so its industries do not grind to a halt, and trading resources for weapons fits that logic. In any case, Moscow flatly denied the purchase, while Pentagon sources insisted it had taken place and showed the country's desperation.

The nuclear arsenal as the last argument

Even in the most pessimistic scenario for the conventional industry, the nuclear arsenal remains. Even if 80% of the delivery systems fail in flight, the rest would be enough to trigger a nuclear war no one would survive, according to the argument that closes the analysis. It is the fact that undermines any triumphalist analysis of Russian military decline.

The industry that promised the future cannot even mass-produce ordinary drones. The one that could still wipe half the planet off the map remains intact. No one has yet explained how that contradiction is to be managed.