Russia’s new S-71 Monochrome cruise missile found carrying US-made Nvidia chip

Ukraine’s military intelligence has reportedly discovered a powerful Nvidia Jetson Orin computer inside Russia’s new S-71 Monochrome air-launched cruise missile earlier this month. The Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine announced the discovery of the chip on August 12. According to HUR officials, it could indicate that Russia is relying on artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in the new weapon. The Nvidia hardware was among 35 foreign electronic components that Ukrainian experts identified in the Russian weapons they examined. “HUR specialists, along with researchers from Ukrainian scientific institutions continue to examine Russian weapons and determine the origins of their electronic components,” HUR said. This finding offers a look at Russia’s reliance on foreign technology for its missiles and drones, which persists despite years of international sanctions and efforts to restrict access to advanced electronics. The Nvidia Jetson Orin family of computer modules are designed for AI, computer vision, and autonomous systems. Depending on the model, they can deliver up to 275 trillion operations per second (TOPS) of performance. The flagship Jetson AGX Orin delivers up to 275 TOPS while using between 15 and 60 watts of power, while the smaller Orin NX reaches up to 157 TOPS at 10 to 40 watts. The compact Orin Nano series provides up to 67 TOPS with power options ranging from seven to 25 watts. Moreover, the platform relies on the Ampere GPU design and supports the firm’s JetPack software stack for AI applications. The module family delivers substantial computing power in a compact form factor. It is made for applications requiring advanced onboard processing. HUR found the part inside the S-71. The Monochrome cruise missile is based on the S-71 Kovyor and is designed for carriage inside the weapons bays of the Su-57 fighter jet and S-70 Okhotnik drone. It is designed to be harder to detect and reportedly can search for targets on its own. The Nvidia chip‘s presence could eventually point to the use of AI in the new S-71 missile. “However, Ukrainian intelligence did not disclose precisely how the Nvidia hardware is being used or what functions it performs during missile operations,” HUR said. Russia’s reliance continues The finding is part of a broader effort by HUR and Ukrainian research institutions to examine captured and recovered Russian weapons and determine the origins of their electronic components. Among the components identified were parts of a passive radar seeker that Russia has begun installing on Geran-2 unmanned aerial vehicles. According to HUR, the system is intended to allow the drones to detect and strike Ukrainian surface-to-air missile systems and radar stations. The investigators also identified a Chinese-made Honpho TS130C-01 camera recovered from a Geran-4 jet-powered drone. Other findings included components from the active seeker of Russia’s Kh-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missile. Ukraine publishes information about such discoveries through the ‘Components in Weapons’ section of HUR’s War-Sanctions portal. “These findings help Ukraine and its partners identify critical foreign technologies used in Russian weapons and strengthen measures aimed at preventing their supply to Russia,” HUR said in a statement. Get the latest in engineering, tech, space & science - delivered daily to your inbox.Based in Skopje, North Macedonia. Her work has appeared in Daily Mail, Mirror, Daily Star, Yahoo, NationalWorld, Newsweek, Press Gazette and others. She covers stories on batteries, wind energy, sustainable shipping and new discoveries. When she's not chasing the next big science story, she's traveling, exploring new cultures, or enjoying good food with even better wine.