Russia is kickstarting its plans to dominate the space race once again but
it will have to depend on Chinese hardware to do so

Date:
Sat, 08 Aug 2026 00:25:00 +0000

Description:
Russia's Angara expansion combines domestic machinery with strategically important Chinese equipment supporting critical manufacturing processes.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Chinese equipment fills
critical roles, though it represents only a small share overall Russia plans to quadruple annual Angara rocket production within the next decade Internal documents expose extensive factory upgrades supporting future rocket manufacturing Russia is pushing to significantly grow production of its
Angara space rockets, to quadruple annual output within the next decade.

Internal planning documents obtained by researchers show the expansion
depends heavily on imported machine tools, and most of them are Chinese-made. That dependence stretches across shop floors that Russia will need to modernize before it can build four rockets a year instead of one. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here: Counting the Chinese machines Of the 541 pieces of equipment listed in the procurement plan, 477 are Russian-made, and only 57 come from Chinese suppliers.

Two more machines came from Bulgaria, leaving the Chinese share of the total list at roughly 10.5%, a modest slice on paper. You may like China and Russia have a secret 'no limit' pact to eliminate Elon Musk's Starlink at all cost Russia to launch Rassvet Starlink rival within days with 318-strong satellite constellation expected by 2028 Chinese tests rocket using the same gas used
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That number changes sharply once each machine is weighed by its technological importance rather than simply counted one by one.

Measured that way, Chinese suppliers account for 28.2% of the entire
project's technological core, based on the internal planning documents. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro
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In the metalworking shop alone, over 47% of the equipment needed there comes from Chinese manufacturers instead of domestic ones.

The finance tells a similar story: over 84% of the entire 3.62-billion-rouble (~$44.71 million) equipment budget still flows into that same technological core.

In total, Khrunichev intends to put close to 900 million roubles (~ $11.29 million), toward equipment made in China. What to read next 'Our ability to achieve orbital AI at scale depends on our ability to access a sufficient number of AI chips, significantly more than are currently available to us': SpaceX admits that getting data centers in space may fall short due to a lack of chips Russia debuts anti-Starlink EW system that can blind terminals by overloading 'satellites' receiving antennas' Tiny European chips power thousands of lethal Russian drones, and almost nobody can stop this

Roughly 10 manufacturers account for most of that spending, and several of them also sell machinery to buyers in Europe and America. Where the machines really come from Some of those companies fit a wider trend that has taken
hold since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine started in 2022.

Heavy forging and hydraulic press equipment fall under European Union export restrictions whenever the intended buyer is based inside Russia.

Washington has also placed sanctions on Russian makers of heavy hydraulic presses, one of them a firm called Pressmash, back in 2023.

Yet under that very same customs code, the EU's imports of Chinese-made machine tools still totalled 207 million euros (~$238 million) in 2025.

Those imports rose another 17.6% in the opening six months of 2026, measured against the equivalent stretch the previous year.

In effect, the same manufacturers profit from Western markets that back Ukraine while also helping modernize the military hardware Russia sends into orbit.

Sanctioning any single Chinese supplier is unlikely to stop this flow of equipment, since near-identical machines are made by several competitors.

Whether losing access to European and American customers would ever outweigh the profits of supplying Russia remains an open question.

The Angara rockets built with the Chinese equipment carry the Russian
Ministry of Defense satellites that American experts claim could threaten assets in orbit and on the ground.

However, Russian experts described the spacecraft as operating "in the interests of the Russian Ministry of Defense."

That difference between Moscow's official position and Washington's
assessment has persisted since the conflict in Ukraine began.

Via United24media Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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