--- title: "Parts Suppliers Are Boycotting Russia’s Pistol-Shooting Android" description: "## Android Gunslinger" date: "2019-03-01" modified: "2019-03-01" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/humanoid-android-fedor-suppliers" categories: - "Space" tags: - "fedor" - "humanoid robot" - "robotics" - "Russia" - "russian federal space agency" --- # Parts Suppliers Are Boycotting Russia’s Pistol-Shooting Android ![]() *\Image: Donat Sorokin/TASS/Getty Images\* ## Android Gunslinger Russia's gun toting robot has hit a major snag: it's scrambling for parts after foreign suppliers cut off sales, [*Defense One* reports](). In 2017, [videos]() [went viral]() of the Terminator-like android dubbed FEDOR (Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research) firing handguns at a variety of targets. Apparently foreign suppliers weren't impressed — leaving the robot's maker, Android Technology, scrambling for parts. "After some of our partners... saw that the robot 'FEDOR' had learned to shoot, we were denied supplies," technical director of the robot company Evgeny Dudorov [told state media *RIA* ]()in an interview, as interpreted by Google Translate. ## Made in Russia According to Dudorov, 40 percent of FEDOR's components are made in Russia. But the company is aiming for a higher proportion. "Russia will develop its own systems as a result of this export ban, but that may take some time," Dudorov told *RIA*. "This announcement also demonstrates that despite the sanctions, the Russian high-tech industry was still able to get what it needed." According to the interview, FEDOR cost "much less" to develop than the $18 million that Boston Dynamics spent on its own humanoid, [parkour-performing]() robot [Atlas](). ## Space Terminator The second iteration of FEDOR might also end up going to space on board a Russian spacecraft in the near future, [*Sputnik News* reported]() back in March 2018. The so-called Federatsiya spacecraft is meant to carry astronauts to low earth orbit along with FEDOR-2 — but when or if the launch will take place is [still uncertain](). When asked if Fedor could one day travel on board a Soyuz to the ISS, Dudorov did not have a clear answer. "This issue is in discussion," Dudorov told *RIA*. "If a decision is made within Roscosmos to conduct such a flight and a technical possibility appears for its implementation, then, in principle, we are ready to fulfill this task." **READ MORE:** [Russia’s Pistol-Packing Robot Is Scrambling for Parts]() \[Defense One\] **More on FEDOR:** *[FEDOR Is a Gunslinging Robot That’s Just a Skin Suit Away From Westworld]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()