UK bans game controller exports to Russia in bid to ground drone attacks
(2025/04/26)
- Reference: 1745663707
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/04/26/uk_russia_controller_drone_attack/
- Source link:
The British government is banning the export of video game controllers to Russia, claiming these can be repurposed for piloting drones on the frontline in Ukraine.
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has implemented a new package of more than 150 new trade measures against Russia that came into force this week.
"We're also banning outright video game controllers going to Russia, preventing them from being used to pilot drones on the frontline, meaning gaming consoles will no longer be repurposed to kill in Ukraine," said Minister of State Stephen Doughty.
[1]
The majority of video games and their controllers are, however, made in China, like a great deal of other tech hardware and components, with some PlayStation consoles produced in Japan. Banning the sale of handheld controllers from the UK might stop them being re-exported to Russia, but if the warmongers in Moscow are determined to get their hands on them, they can simply ask their allies in China.
[2]US Army's laser obsession continues with yet another drone-zapper deal
[3]DJI loosens flight restrictions, decides to trust operators to follow FAA rules
[4]So … Russia no longer a cyber threat to America?
[5]US Cyber Command reportedly pauses cyberattacks on Russia
We have asked the FCDO if they have figures on how many video game controllers are exported from the UK, but have not yet received a response. We also asked the Department for Business and Trade the same question, but it said it didn't have this information.
There is also the question of whether video game controllers are of any use for controlling drones. They typically link to the console via a cable or a Bluetooth connection, both designed for close proximity use. Drone controllers are usually designed for high precision and use more powerful radio technology with a range of many miles or kilometers.
[6]
[7]
"It may be more a case of games controllers connecting via USB or Bluetooth to the actual drone control system, which will be a more specialized unit that will be able to translate and retransmit the commands coming from the game controller," said Andrew Buss, Senior Research Director for Digital Infrastructure Strategies at IDC.
"This would be similar to the [8]Oceangate Titan submersible that had been using standard games controllers that would connect wirelessly to the submersible's control system, which would then result in software defined responses to effect the desired control inputs through the various thrusters etc," he added.
It will be hard to realistically ban game controllers from reaching Russia as it is very mature technology and many options can be sourced readily second hand or from mass producers in China
While Brit politicians in Westminster claim video game controllers are being used to pilot drones on the frontline in Ukraine, there appears to be little they can do about this.
"It will be hard to realistically ban game controllers from reaching Russia as it is very mature technology and many options can be sourced readily second hand or from mass producers in China, so this does seem more of a token effort than a serious initiative," Buss said.
[9]
<pThe game controller ban looks suspiciously like a symbolic gesture, although the new sanctions package also targets more substantial kit, including chemicals, electronics, machinery, metals, and software for Russia's defense and energy sectors, such as oil and gas exploration tools.
"Cutting off Russia's energy revenues will drain Putin's war chest - that's why we're shutting down the sale of sophisticated software used to cash in on new oil and gas reserves, preventing UK expertise from being used to pour fresh fuel into Russia's war machine," Doughty said. ®
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[10] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has implemented a new package of more than 150 new trade measures against Russia that came into force this week.
"We're also banning outright video game controllers going to Russia, preventing them from being used to pilot drones on the frontline, meaning gaming consoles will no longer be repurposed to kill in Ukraine," said Minister of State Stephen Doughty.
[1]
The majority of video games and their controllers are, however, made in China, like a great deal of other tech hardware and components, with some PlayStation consoles produced in Japan. Banning the sale of handheld controllers from the UK might stop them being re-exported to Russia, but if the warmongers in Moscow are determined to get their hands on them, they can simply ask their allies in China.
[2]US Army's laser obsession continues with yet another drone-zapper deal
[3]DJI loosens flight restrictions, decides to trust operators to follow FAA rules
[4]So … Russia no longer a cyber threat to America?
[5]US Cyber Command reportedly pauses cyberattacks on Russia
We have asked the FCDO if they have figures on how many video game controllers are exported from the UK, but have not yet received a response. We also asked the Department for Business and Trade the same question, but it said it didn't have this information.
There is also the question of whether video game controllers are of any use for controlling drones. They typically link to the console via a cable or a Bluetooth connection, both designed for close proximity use. Drone controllers are usually designed for high precision and use more powerful radio technology with a range of many miles or kilometers.
[6]
[7]
"It may be more a case of games controllers connecting via USB or Bluetooth to the actual drone control system, which will be a more specialized unit that will be able to translate and retransmit the commands coming from the game controller," said Andrew Buss, Senior Research Director for Digital Infrastructure Strategies at IDC.
"This would be similar to the [8]Oceangate Titan submersible that had been using standard games controllers that would connect wirelessly to the submersible's control system, which would then result in software defined responses to effect the desired control inputs through the various thrusters etc," he added.
It will be hard to realistically ban game controllers from reaching Russia as it is very mature technology and many options can be sourced readily second hand or from mass producers in China
While Brit politicians in Westminster claim video game controllers are being used to pilot drones on the frontline in Ukraine, there appears to be little they can do about this.
"It will be hard to realistically ban game controllers from reaching Russia as it is very mature technology and many options can be sourced readily second hand or from mass producers in China, so this does seem more of a token effort than a serious initiative," Buss said.
[9]
<pThe game controller ban looks suspiciously like a symbolic gesture, although the new sanctions package also targets more substantial kit, including chemicals, electronics, machinery, metals, and software for Russia's defense and energy sectors, such as oil and gas exploration tools.
"Cutting off Russia's energy revenues will drain Putin's war chest - that's why we're shutting down the sale of sophisticated software used to cash in on new oil and gas reserves, preventing UK expertise from being used to pour fresh fuel into Russia's war machine," Doughty said. ®
Get our [10]Tech Resources
[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/edgeiot&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aA0DK2bFpHz7u5rqzY_qsgAAAFA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/25/us_army_laser_weapon/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/15/dji_ditch_geofencing/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/04/russia_cyber_threat/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/03/infosec_in_brief/
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[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/22/oceangate_titanic_titan_sub_implosion/
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[10] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Bit bloody late
elsergiovolador
The truth is government just fears that if they do something meaningful, Russia may send a couple of tourists wearing pungent perfumes to admire our architecture.
Re: Bit bloody late
Anonymous Coward
It would be so easy to track this stuff too since much of it is slightly radioactive where some of it is sourced.
Anonymous Coward
Sounds like Russia already has a cheat code for this.
Drone control arms race
Eclectic Man
They are using new 'fly by wire' drones now, range of up to 20km, no radio comms, so can fly through radio blackspots, and are very difficult to detect:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/23/they-cannot-be-jammed-fibre-optic-drones-pose-new-threat-in-ukraine
"At a secret workshop in Ukraine’s north-east, where about 20 people assemble hundreds of FPV (first person view) drones, there is a new design. Under the frame of the familiar quadcopter is a cylinder, the size of a forearm. Coiled up inside is fibre optic cable, 10km (6 miles) or even 20km long, to create a wired kamikaze drone."
PMSL
Anonymous Coward
Because the UK is known for being the world's largest manufacturer of game controllers?
Are they also going to ban export of ice to Siberia?
Re: PMSL
Anonymous Coward
Kempston would be very unhappy with your comment if they didn't stop trading in 1993.
Re: PMSL
elsergiovolador
They'll ban export of vodka next. That will show them!
Re: PMSL
Clausewitz4.1
They'll ban export of vodka next. That will show them!
That is truly terrifying.
Bit bloody late
And likely to be ineffective.
If the government wanted to tighten sanctions on Russia effectively then they should put some resource into blocking sanction-evasion on Russia and Belarusian timber, which is a multi-billion euro sanction breach by laundering timber to get it into Europe. It's primarily birch, used in furniture, chipboard, and plywood, and there's credible estimates that suggest almost half of all birch used in Europe is likely Russian.