Drone Jammers Purchased By The Russian National Guard For One Billion Rubles Turned Out To Be Inoperable
- 23.07.2026, 14:05
The "Vyzhigal" system found itself at the center of a scandal and a criminal case.
The Lefortovo Court in Moscow has received a criminal case against Andrei Rul, technical director of OOO “Oruzheynaya Palata” Andrey Rul, who is accused of supplying the Russian National Guard with “Vyzhigatel” UAV detection and suppression systems that were unfit for use, writes "Kommersant".
The businessman, who was arrested back in August 2024 and was initially suspected only of illegally importing anti-drone guns from China, is now charged with the premeditated smuggling of military equipment, nine counts of fraud, laundering of criminally obtained funds, and evasion of customs duties on an especially large scale.
According to *Kommersant*, in 2021, the “Arms Chamber” announced the availability of the “Vyzhigatel” system. Subsequently, the Russian National Guard purchased this weaponry for more than 1 billion rubles in a single transaction. Contracts for the purchase of the systems were signed in November 2023 (the order was initially estimated at 820 million rubles). At the time, the device’s advantages were said to be its mobility and the ability to operate both at fixed posts and during reconnaissance missions. However, according to investigators, the weapon turned out to be unsuitable for use in reality and “simply remained in storage.” In February 2025, Rosgvardia Major General Konstantin Ryabykh, who was responsible for the procurement of the “Vyzhigatel,” was detained.
Subsequently, the former head of the agency’s Department of Technology and Research was sentenced to 12 years in a maximum-security prison on charges of accepting an especially large bribe while fulfilling a state defense contract. The court’s ruling stated that he received kickbacks totaling 17 million rubles from the founder of “Oruzheynaya Palata,” Georgy Strelov, in exchange for facilitating the contract and providing general protection. “The terms of the contracts were not fulfilled, causing particularly large-scale damage to the Russian Guard,” investigators stated.
Rul himself claimed that the “flame throwers” delivered “are not weapons and are freely sold,” and therefore no criminal act had occurred. His defense team attempted to substantiate this argument with relevant responses from the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation.
The property of the technical director of “Oruzheynaya Palata,” including a plot of land in the Moscow region, a 1,555-square-meter residential house, as well as a security guard house with a 230-square-meter garage and several imported cars, have been seized.