Russian cos pledge to provide component substitutes for space industry by 2020
GRENOBLE. April 10 (Interfax) - Russian manufacturers of microelectronics are prepared to supply the country's space industry with components, but on the condition that the application of microchips is standardized and legislative restrictions are imposed on the use of foreign components.
Microelectronics companies in Zelenograd, the largest of which is JSC NIIME & Micron , a division of Sistema JSFC , intend to focus primarily on manufacturing components for the space industry, Vladimir Zaitsev, the head of Zelenograd Development Corporation, which coordinates cooperation among companies in the Zelenograd microelectronics cluster, told Interfax.
He said Russian satellites currently use a broad and diverse range of microcircuits and chips that are not regulated by common standards. In some models of satellites the share of foreign-made chips is up to 90% and most of them do not meet requirements for space applications.
In order to ensure import substitution, Zelenograd manufacturers are proposing that the Russian government regulate standards for chips that can be used to build satellites. In addition, Russian suppliers need to be protected by restricting the use of foreign chips and microcircuits, Zaitsev said.
If these conditions are met, the component base for the Russian space industry could become 80% Russian by 2020, he believes.
The transition to a new generation of electronic components in the space industry and eliminating the lag behind world-class standards is a challenge that is now being faced by the Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos).
The Russian authorities also intend to reduce the industry's dependence on imported components in order to secure equipment against espionage and minimize the risk of restrictions in supplies in the case of international complications. At the end of January, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin gave orders to use only Russian components in equipment for navigation satellites, an industry source told Interfax. The order does not set clear deadlines for implementation, but manufacturers reckon this will take five to six years, the source said.
It is not currently possible to completely close the market to foreign manufacturers of space equipment, as Russia needs to work with western companies in order to reach a new technological level, Zaitsev said. Foreign, primarily European, manufacturers will be able to continue to supply components to Russia for functional modules not critical to the security of a satellite's operations, he said.
Russian microelectronics manufacturers, meanwhile, hope to enter European markets for space industry products. In the space industry, unlike household electronics, there are few manufacturers of components and each one specializes in certain products, so Russian companies could try to find their niche, Zaitsev said. For example, they could specialize in producing onboard microcontrollers or telecom modules, he said. In addition, Russia has tougher standards for radiation resistance of microelectronic components, which gives domestic manufacturers an edge over Asian producers, he added.
The European market for space components is worth an estimated $700 million and if all goes well Russia could win up to 5% of this market in four to five years, Zaitsev reckons.
The Russian market for space industry components is worth about 2 billion rubles.
In order to harmonize its technology with European technology, Russia could join the open SpaceWire standard supported by the European Space Agency, but a final decision on this has not been made yet, Zaitsev said.
Zelenograd's NII Submikron, a participant in a Russian-French project to launch a research satellite, is already working on this standard. The agreement to launch the project was signed in Grenoble on Tuesday.
This project will give Russia a chance to try out new technology and components developed to SpaceWire standards, Zaitsev expects. The project to build the satellite, which is expected to take four to five years, will become the point of entry into the European market for Russian microelectronics manufacturers, he hopes.
He said French partners have not asked questions about possible restrictions on cooperation with Russia in the high-tech sector and the prospects of international sanctions. "The mood is very positive," Zaitsev said.
"The more there will be such mutually beneficial cooperation and development, the less there will be a desire to impose sanctions," Zaitsev said.