Manufacturer of Russian drones still receives satellite services from US company: investigation

An American company provides satellite services to Russia/Collage 24 Channel, photo Trap Aggressor

The American company Iridium continues to provide navigation services to the company of the Russian military-industrial complex “AFM-Servers”. And one of the company’s offices still operates in Moscow.

In particular, investigators found that the Russian company AFM-Servers, co-owned by businessman Amir Valiev, has contracts with Russian law enforcement agencies and the FSB. Trap Aggressor refers to a video where Valiev presented the Ptero drone, designed for surveillance. In the video, the businessman says that the drone uses the Iridium satellite system.

In particular, this is the Cartograph drone, which Russia is actively using in the war against Ukraine. The drone is equipped with foreign-made components. The main high-tech elements of the equipment are produced by companies in Germany, the USA and Japan.

Investigators also found that the Iridium office is still operating as normal in the capital of the aggressor country.

According to the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, this branch of the American company has existing contracts for the supply of satellite communications services for the Russian armed forces.

It is also noted that in 2015-2022 the Russian company Iridium Communications directly purchased products from the American company Iridium Satellite. In 2023, Iridium Communications supplied machines for receiving, converting voices and images of the Iridium brand to Russia, but from unknown suppliers.

The company cooperates with the FSB

Investigators note that the AFM-Servers company directly contributes to Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine and systematically cooperates with the Russian FSB. Thus, in 2013 – 2015, the company entered into contracts worth almost 100 million rubles with the FSB division that deals with logistics.

Data from the Russian procurement website/Screenshot of Trap Aggressor< /p>

At the same time, AFM-Servers came under sanctions only in July 2023. The only country that included the company in the sanctions list was Ukraine.

“Cartographer”: briefly about the UAV

• Externally, it is a drone ” Cartograph” resembles the “Orlan”, but has differences: a camera with 12 lenses and a blue body color. The drone can fly at an altitude of up to 5000 m, which makes it inaccessible to transport anti-aircraft missile systems.
• The Russians use these drones mainly in the front-line zone to assess the situation on the ground and the location of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' weapons. The complex is equipped with 80-megapixel cameras and thermal imagers to create 3D plans of the special operations area.
• Recently, the Ukrainian military shot down one of these drones near the border with Russia, in the Sumy region. For the first time, specialists received such an exhibit for research in almost undamaged form. “Cartographer” is literally stuffed with Western components. There is nothing Russian inside – only the hull and parachute are Russian-made.