Problems of the Russian military giant. The state buys from them below the production value

• Optron-Stavropol, a supplier of semiconductors to MiG, Sukhoi and Tupolev aircraft, has its bank accounts and debts frozen. The company has begun layoffs.
• It's all because of the army, which dictates prices to the company below the value of production in defense contracts.
• Refusal to cooperate with the state means serious problems for the plants.

A Russian electronics manufacturer that supplies power components for military aircraft and passenger planes such as the Sukhoi Superjet has closed its operations and is on the brink of bankruptcy , technology magazine Cnews reports.

Optron-Stavropol , a supplier of semiconductors for MiG, Sukhoi and Tupolev aircraft, as well as the next-generation MC-21 passenger plane, has suspended operations.

The company reported a net loss of more than 149 million rubles (about $1.7 million) in 2024 alone, and its debt to creditors reached 230 million rubles ($3 million).

The factories must produce for the army and sell at reduced prices

With its accounts frozen and debt mounting, the company said it could no longer sustain its operations. CEO Pavel Bondarenko blamed the crisis on defense contracts that force the company to sell at state-set prices that are far below production costs.

Under Russian law governing state defense procurement , prices for dual-use items are set by the military . For example, the Defense Ministry's price for a single diode is 2,600 rubles ($33) per unit, while the actual cost of production is about 3,600 rubles ($46).

- The company is no longer able to cover expenses and had to make layoffs, Bondarenko said.

The Ministry of Defense demands that the lowest possible costs be included in the prices, and its representatives often abuse this leverage, which ultimately leads to financial losses for manufacturers, Alexey Novosyolov, CEO of microcircuit maker PKK Milandr, told CNews.

Novosyolov added that companies that refuse to fulfill government defense contracts risk losing a large customer base and facing state sanctions .

Forcing production using old technologies and oppressive controls

The Prosecutor General's Office has initiated an audit of Optron-Stavropol's finances. - The prosecutor's audit did not reveal any violations or evidence of misappropriation of state defense funds - Bondarenko noted for CNews.

The corporation has been struggling with ongoing financial difficulties for several years now. Ivan Pokrovsky, head of the Association of Russian Electronics Developers and Manufacturers, said in 2021 that Optron-Stavropol has long maintained production of “older technologies that are kept specifically for military purposes .”

"These technologies are not competitive outside of defense contracts. If the company's assets are taken over by a larger electronics manufacturer, it will be possible to retain both the workforce and the technological equipment. However, it may be more profitable for shareholders to simply sell part of the plant's assets," Pokrovsky said at the time.