I think that behind those “oh, it’s 30 years old” people miss one thing:
350nm chips are perfectly alright for many things. Simple controllers, chips inside various appliances, even some of the simpler military tech can absolutely rely on those chips.
It is way more than nothing.
This brings them to about mid 90’s tech… They’ll be able to make microwave ovens, tamagotchis, and a counterfeit N64 that runs a game called “Mushroom Plumber 3D”
… And they’re able to make chips good enough for their military.
Russia’s military is in large parts only slightly refurbished soviet gear. For a T72 or even T90, a 90s era chip is still good enough.
Why do you think they dismantled all those washing machines? The microcontrollers in there aren’t high tech at all.
