Forward Technical Trade SL, based in Albacete, Spain, reportedly sold a used computer numerical control (CNC) forging machine to Russia’s AZK Group for $1.3 million. The equipment, manufactured in 1983 by Austrian company Gesellschaft für Fertigung (GFM), is capable of producing large-caliber artillery barrels, the report said.

Experts say such heavy industrial equipment is critical for Russia’s ability to manufacture artillery barrels, which require highly precise forging to ensure the ballistic performance and accuracy of large-caliber weapons.

The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) has previously noted that Austrian-made GFM machines are well-suited for radial forging of artillery barrels and have been used by the Soviet Union and later Russia since the 1970s

Since 1975, Russia has relied on imported SXP-5 rotary forging machines at its Perm-based facilities, acquiring 26 such systems during the Soviet era. Domestic production of similar radial forging machines has stalled, with no evidence of successful indigenous development despite past pledges.