Senate panel to question US semiconductor companies over Russian weapons

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations said on Thursday it will hold a hearing with four companies over the use of American-made semiconductors in Russian weapons used in the war in Ukraine.

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, who chairs the panel, announced that the hearing on Tuesday will include testimony from executives from Analog Devices, Advanced Micro Devices, Intel and Texas Instruments.

The committee said the companies’ “products consistently appear in seized Russian weapons.” The hearing will examine the companies’ compliance with export controls aimed at preventing Russia from accessing American technology.

Intel declined to comment. The other three companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The companies are sending vice presidents who oversee trade compliance issues to testify.

Blumenthal said at a hearing in February that U.S. semiconductor makers need to do more to prevent their chips from illegally finding their way into equipment used by the Russian military.

Despite strict export controls imposed by the US following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russian equipment used on the battlefield in Ukraine reportedly continues to contain US-origin chips and other technologies, from drones to radios, missiles to armored vehicles.

A Senate paper published in February said preliminary data showed significant increases since 2021 in exports to countries that Russia could use to evade controls.

Intel said in February that its contracts require customers and distributors to comply with regulations and that it is working to monitor and mitigate potential issues distributors may encounter.

AMD also said in February that it “welcomes strengthening public/private partnerships to combat illicit product diversion.” Texas Instruments said it spends “significant time and resources” to keep its chips “out of the hands of malicious actors,” while Analog Devices said it takes “significant and proactive measures to mitigate gray market risks.”

(Reporting by David Shepardson, editing by Bill Berkrot)