Irish tech feeding Russia's war machine: Why can't we stop it?

The Geran-2 is a deadly weapon; a drone bomb that can be launched from thousands of kilometres away and yet hit its target with precision accuracy.

Low cost and easy to make, this winter it has become a key weapon in Russia’s armoury as it pummels Ukraine, causing hundreds of deaths and cutting off energy supply.

And a key component in the Geran-2 design is a chip manufactured years ago by Taoglas, which is headquartered in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford.

So how did it make its way into Russia’s armament supply chain – especially given EU rules which ban the export to Russia of “high priority” dual-use technology that can have both civilian and military applications.

An investigation by The Irish Times in partnership with the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and others has revealed that technology from EU companies is making its way into Russia in vast quantities, where it is used in weapons such as the Geran-2.

This includes various components manufactured by Taoglas and another Irish-based company, TE Connectivity.

Irish Times crime and security correspondent Conor Gallagher was part of that investigative consortium and he explains how these drones work and why stopping their manufacture has proven difficult.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

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