South Africa Investigates Civilian Laser Found in Russian Drone
South African authorities have launched an investigation into how electronic equipment manufactured in the country ended up in Russian drones used to attack Ukraine.
The Gaze reports on it, referring to Bloomberg.
The equipment in question is a laser rangefinder manufactured by Lightware Optoelectronics Ltd. that is typically used in civilian applications such as autonomous vehicles, mine control, and wildlife counting.
According to Ukrainian Special Envoy for Sanctions Vladyslav Vlasyuk, this rangefinder was found in a Russian Harpy-A1 drone, which is a suicide drone that explodes upon reaching its target.
The company stated that the equipment is not intended for military use and is not subject to control by the National Committee for the Control of Conventional Arms (NCACC), blaming “unscrupulous” buyers for its illegal use.
CEO Nadia Nielsen noted that the company relies on end-user declarations but has no way of controlling the further use of its products.
South African authorities are investigating the company to determine how the equipment ended up in Russia, as its export to countries in conflict is prohibited by law without the appropriate NCACC permit.
The Lightware factory is located in Centurion near Pretoria and shares a building with several other organizations. The company was founded in 2011 and received investment from Sanari Capital, a private investment company based in Johannesburg.
We are “profoundly disturbed to learn that one of the technologies we support has been found in such a nefarious application,” said Samantha Pokroy, Sanari Capital’s CEO. “It is deeply unfortunate that component manufacturers lack the means to fully trace the end use of their products.”
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