The Ministry of Industry and Trade fined NTC "Modul" 290.1 million rubles for missing the deadline for developing a radiation-hardened processor that was supposed to replace foreign PowerPC family chips in Russian space and defense technology, CNews reports.
The contract for 603.7 million rubles was signed on October 30, 2017, and the work was supposed to be completed by November 20, 2019. According to the ministry's claim, which the publication reviewed, the development was delayed by almost a year.
This refers to the R&D project with the code "Processing-I10" – the development and mastering of serial production of a radiation-hardened processor with a superscalar architecture. The processor was intended to replace foreign products, in particular the British E2V PC7448 chip with PowerPC architecture, which was used in systems operating in extreme conditions: on satellites, in aviation and defense technology.
The technical specification stated that there were no direct domestic analogues at the time of the contract. The processor was supposed to include a 64-bit PowerPC 470S core, SpaceWire, Ethernet, UART, GPIO interface controllers, as well as an external memory controller. The clock frequency was to be at least 200 MHz, radiation resistance and mean time between failures at least 132 thousand hours with a shelf life of 25 years.
NTC "Modul" emphasized that the contract, despite the delay, was fulfilled, and the processors are being mass-produced. The company is one of the leading Russian developers of microelectronics for the space and defense industries. It specializes in radiation-hardened processors, systems-on-chip, and microwave components. "Modul" products are used in satellite communication, navigation, and electronic warfare systems.
Slow import substitution of microelectronics in Russia
The story with NTC "Modul" is not an isolated case. Earlier, the Kurchatov Institute received a fine of 303 million rubles for delaying the mastering of production of an Intel Atom analogue processor by almost four years – the delay was 1381 days, and the total amount of sanctions from the Ministry of Industry and Trade reached about 398 million rubles. Later, NIISI, part of the same Kurchatov Institute, was fined another 110 million rubles for violating the deadlines for creating analogues of Intel, Broadcom, Marvell, and Renesas chips for high-speed data transmission interfaces.
A similar picture is observed in related projects: the Research Institute of Molecular Electronics received a claim for 462.8 million rubles for delaying the development of analogues of Microchip Technology microcircuits – the delay exceeded two years. All this is happening against the backdrop of a massive wave of fines that the Ministry of Industry and Trade began sending to microelectronics manufacturers starting in March 2026. Market participants fear that such pressure could lead to bankruptcies of enterprises fulfilling state defense orders.
Read more on the topic:
- Import substitution failed: NPC "Elvis" fined 32 million for overdue replacement of US chips
- "Istok" Shokin fined for disrupting state order for microwave components needed for electronic warfare and satellites
- Texas Instruments chip replacement project fined in Russia: "Geraniums" fly on them