Austrian Components for Russian Missiles: Vienna Company Denies Relations

Electronic components ordered from an Austrian company were reportedly intended to end up at a sanctioned corporation in Russia and possibly be used in air-to-air missiles. Roithner Lasertechnik in Vienna denies any contacts with the Russian corporation and feels deceived by a buyer in Hong Kong. "We have terminated this business relationship as of today," explained Managing Director Andreas Roithner to the APA on Wednesday.

Russian Companies Discuss Austrian Diodes

In the letter from the director of the Russian corporation TRV-Engineering, sanctioned by both the EU and the USA, to the director of the missile manufacturing plant Azovskiy Optiko-Mechanicheskiy Zavod, there is mention of technical problems with 28 high-performance infrared laser diodes ordered from Roithner Lasertechnik in February 2023. However, the diode producer has since conducted initial tests, and completion is expected by July 28, 2025, according to the letter dated July 15, 2025, published by the Ukraine-registered website dallas-park.com on Tuesday.

Roithner Denies Relations with Russia

"Analysts at Dallas, a private intelligence and analysis company, assume that the laser diodes mentioned in the letter were intended for the control systems of Russian air-to-air missiles," wrote the authors, speculating about a close relationship between the Austrian company and the sanctioned TRV-Engineering.

At the trading company in Vienna, which does not produce laser diodes itself and also does not have any testing facilities, they disagree. There is no contact with the Russian corporation; rather, they were deceived by a customer in Hong Kong, explained the managing director of Roithner Lasertechnik, Andreas Roithner, on Wednesday to the APA.

"Were Deceived": Detour via Chinese Company to Russia

As early as 2023, the company United Electronics Group Company Limited in Hong Kong ordered 50 pieces of the relevant laser diodes, but in April 2023, only 22 pieces stored at the German general distributor were delivered. Due to technical problems of the diode manufacturer in the USA, they were not able to deliver the remaining 28 pieces at that time.

The delivery of the second tranche, which was evidently hoped for in Russia, will not take place: "As of today, we have also canceled the remaining 28 laser diodes at the German general distributor," emphasized Roithner. They only discovered on Tuesday, through more detailed research, that the buyer in Hong Kong had already been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in December 2023 due to business with Russia.

In his company, it was assumed that the ordered diodes would be used in medical research. When asked if they could also be used in air-to-air missiles, Roithner stated that he is not a military expert. However, any type of laser diode could be used for targeting. As confirmed by the Austrian Ministry of Economic Affairs to the APA, the ordered laser diodes are not considered dual-use goods for civilian and military use and therefore do not require an export license. According to the price list of the Viennese company, a laser diode of this type costs about 500 euros.

(APA/Red)

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