Equipment manufactured by the Italian firm Camozzi serves as the fundamental hardware for automated ammunition-filling lines developed by the Krasnoarmiysky Scientific Research Institute of Mechanization — the principal designer of ammunition production lines in the Russian Federation.
This is documented in files obtained by the Belarusian organisation BELPOL and now held by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security.
The joint-stock company Krasnoarmiysky Scientific Research Institute of Mechanization (KNIIM) is part of the Russian state corporation Rostec and, among other activities, develops advanced technologies for the preparation of mixed explosive charges, the filling and assembly of munitions, and the design and implementation of production equipment.
The institute’s current priority is to maximise automation in the processes of loading artillery and rocket projectiles with explosives using a segmented casting method, as well as the filling of mortar mines by auger (screw) feeding.
The factory designs and manufactures lines for filling the following munitions:
mortar mines 53-OF-843B, 3O12;
anti-tank mines such as TM-62P3, PTM-4M;
warhead sections of rocket projectiles 9M22U, 9M27F, 9M55F, 9M528;
unguided air-to-surface rockets S-13DF;
warhead assemblies 9N558, 9N559;
warheads for UAVs KОZBCH-1.8, OFSP-0.5, OFSP-1.7.
Key automation components that enable a substantial increase in munitions output include electro-magnetically controlled directional valves (hydraulic/pneumatic distributors), pneumatic drives, pneumatic cylinders, pneumatic valves, pressure regulators and related equipment.
According to the BELPOL documents, Camozzi equipment — produced by the Italian industrial group Camozzi, a world leader in pneumatic components, systems and automation — forms the basis of these production lines. The KNIIM assembly lines built around Camozzi products are supplied not only to Russia’s defence industry but also to the Lukashenko regime in Belarus.
The Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security holds two equipment passports (technical dossiers) for the “Final Operations Line” and the “Pre-Painting Preparation Line” — two specialised modules of a comprehensive ammunition production line that KNIIM designed and delivered to Belarus in 2025.
The passport for “Final Operations Line 000-2930R-00” states that the line is intended to prepare munitions for sealing, performing final operations necessary to make the munitions ready for storage or transport. Operations carried out on the line include unscrewing technological bushings, weighing and applying weight marks, marking, sorting by weight marks and a range of other inspection and finishing operations.
Almost all equipment on this line is Camozzi-made. The documents specify Camozzi pneumatic components used across the machinery, for example:
in the hanger-screwing machine: pneumatic cylinder 61M2P100A0160;
in the weighing module: pneumatic cylinder QCT2A063A50;
in the impact-dot marking machine: pneumatic cylinders 61M2P080A0075, 61M2P063A0125 and QCT2A063A100;
in the lift: pneumatic cylinder 63MT2C100A0100;
in the rotation mechanism: pneumatic cylinder 61M2P100A0150 and rotary actuator QR50S;
in the sorting mechanism: pneumatic cylinders 61M2P063A0203, 61M2P100A0255 and 61M2P032A0120;
in the synchroniser: pneumatic cylinders 61M2P100A0255 and 61M2P032A0120;
in the spreader: pneumatic cylinders 61M2P100A050 and 61M2P063A065;
in the alignment mechanism: pneumatic cylinders 61M2P063A0075, 61M2P063A0125 and 61M2P080A0075;
in the sealing conveyor: pneumatic cylinders 61M2P080A0100 and 61M2P100A0950;
in the roller conveyor: pneumatic cylinder 41M2P160A0220.
In total, the line includes 37 Camozzi pneumatic cylinders.
The “Pre-Painting Preparation Line 000-2935R-00” is intended to perform automated technological operations to prepare the external surfaces of munitions for the application of protective or marking coatings. According to the line’s passport, its principal equipment is likewise Camozzi product (a total of 37 pneumatic cylinders).
KNIIM does not manufacture complete production lines entirely in-house; it prepares detailed design documentation on the basis of which separate pieces of equipment are then procured from other companies.
BELPOL’s information indicates that some Camozzi equipment is supplied to KNIIM via intermediary firms, while other items are manufactured in Russia at Camozzi subsidiary plants that have continued to operate in the aggressor state after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
One such intermediary is the Sarov-registered limited liability company NPO “High Technologies” (TIN 5254481160). Documents show that this company purchased Camozzi equipment from Camozzi’s official Russian partner, LLC “I7” (TIN 7705773316) — for example, according to invoices and contracts, in three contracts in June 2023 “I7” sold Camozzi products to NPO “High Technologies” for a total of 1.1 million rubles.
The connection between NPO “High Technologies” and KNIIM is further documented by a consignment note showing Camozzi equipment being transferred to KNIIM. Under “Consignment Note No. 4 on the release of goods off-site”, NPO “High Technologies” transferred thirty material items, including Camozzi products, to KNIIM free of charge under contract No. ZZK-83/24 dated 28 June 2024.
One implementation chain for introducing Camozzi products into Russian ammunition production lines therefore looks like this:
LLC “I7” → LLC NPO “High Technologies” → KNIIM → purchaser of the filling/assembly line.
KNIIM also acquires equipment from other suppliers. Documentary evidence exists for a Camozzi sale to KNIIM from another intermediary, LLC “Manufacture and Technologies” (TIN 9710097459). Investigators hold an invoice dated 18 August 2025 from LLC “Manufacture and Technologies” to KNIIM for 575,000 rubles; notably, in this case the Camozzi products were shipped directly from the Italian company’s warehouse in Russia.
The documents state that “to collect goods from the Camozzi warehouse one must have a power of attorney. The full product catalogue can be found at www.camozzi.ru.”
Camozzi Group is an international Italian industrial group producing pneumatic components and equipment, pneumatic systems and automation. The company operates in 78 countries, including Russia. Camozzi’s plants did not cease operations after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In October 2023 the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NAZK) included Camozzi in its list of international sponsors of war on account of the company’s continued business activity in Russia, cooperation with the Russian military-industrial complex and the ongoing operation of its plant on the territory of temporarily occupied Crimea.
As NAZK noted, Camozzi’s Russian clients include defence-industry enterprises whose products are actively used in the war against Ukraine:
Izhorskiye Zavody JSC;
Kolomensky Zavod JSC;
Silovye Mashiny JSC;
Uralvagonzavod Research-Production Corporation JSC;
PetrozavodskMash holding.
Moreover, since the start of the full-scale aggression, Camozzi Group has cooperated with sanctioned entities such as Tikhvin Freight Car Building Plant JSC and Chelyabinsk Zinc Plant JSC, which is controlled by sanctioned Russian oligarchs Iskandar Makhmudov and Andrei Bokarev.
Despite the occupation, Camozzi’s “Mechanosborochniy Zavod Camozzi Pneumatika” continued to operate in occupied Simferopol.
In Russia Camozzi operates through LLC “Camozzi Pneumatica”, with 32 branches, some 500 employees and a client base of roughly 80,000 enterprises.
If you have found a spelling error, please, notify us by selecting that text and pressing Ctrl+Enter.
