Hacktivists from the Cyber Resistance group have provided new data revealing a connection between American graphics processor manufacturer NVIDIA and the Russian drone manufacturer “Albatros.”
InformNapalm, an investigative organization, analyzed the documents, exposing that Russia is using NVIDIA’s Jetson series microcomputers for image recognition in its new Albatros M5 drones.
The analysis of internal documents from “Albatros” and the email communications of the company’s CEO, Frolov, uncovered that collaboration with NVIDIA has been ongoing since at least 2016. This cooperation continued despite Russia’s annexation of Crimea, sanctions against Russia, and direct U.S. sanctions against “Albatros.”
The primary contact at NVIDIA is Anton Dzhoraev, a senior manager in corporate business development.
A recent email dated February 26, 2024, invited “Albatros” to the NVIDIA GTC 2024, a leading conference on artificial intelligence. Dzhorayev suggested that invitations could also be sent to students and interested colleagues, likely referring to students from “Alabuga Polytechnic,” who are involved in drone assembly. This indicates Dzhorayev’s awareness of “Albatros,” the “Alabuga” special economic zone, and their activities.
The Albatros website even resells and supports Jetson microcomputers.
According to NVIDIA’s website, Jetson is a leading platform for autonomous transport, robots, and other embedded applications. It includes high-performance modules, the NVIDIA JetPack SDK for software acceleration, and an ecosystem of partners offering sensors, SDKs, services, and products for development acceleration. Jetson is compatible with the same AI-based software and cloud technologies used on other NVIDIA platforms, providing the performance and energy efficiency needed for autonomous machine infrastructure.
Despite the evidence, NVIDIA representatives have not commented on their collaboration with the Russian military drone manufacturer.