President of Canadian company Tallysman Wireless Gyles Panther confirmed that his company’s products were found in the Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones that Russia has been using to attack infrastructure in Ukraine, the Globe and Mail reported.
Earlier, Ukraine-based NGO StateWatch and Ukrainian civil society group Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (NAKO) published an investigation finding that Iranian-made Shaheds drones, with the exception of the engine, consist entirely of foreign-made parts.
The NGO identified over 30 EU and American companies whose parts have been used to manufacture Iranian kamikaze drones.
According to the investigation, the components included a “servo drive from the American Hitec USA Group, power elements from the Japanese Panasonic, and ceramic antenna from the Canadian Tallysman.”
Panther said that Tallysman Wireless doesn’t export its components to Iran or Russia, and its distribution network is forbidden from selling any products to sanctioned countries and individuals.
“It is sometimes assumed that we are somehow complicit in this usage. We absolutely are not,” Panther said in an interview with the Globe and Mail. “Tallysman is 100% committed to supporting Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.”
The company said it is now working with the Canada Border Services Agency and other government agencies to determine how the parts made their way to Iran.
The Globe and Mail reported that Tallysman antenna components are not subject to export control as they aren't considered sensitive equipment.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Dec. 5 that the Canadian government is “extremely concerned” about the reports that Canadian-made parts ended up in Iranian drones.
“Even as Canada is producing extraordinary technological innovations here from around the world, we do not want them to participate in Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine or Iran’s contribution,” he said during a press conference.
“That’s why we have strict export permits in place for sensitive technology that are rigorously enforced, and that’s why we will be following up with this company that is fully cooperating to try to figure out exactly how items that were not supposed to get into the hands of anyone like the Iranian government actually ended up there.”
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