Russian scientists have created a super-strong composite, catching up with the US and Japan in this area

Russian scientists from the Rosatom Research Center have developed carbon fiber with a strength of 7 gigapascals, which puts our country on par with world leaders in this field – the Japanese companies Toray and Mitsubishi Chemical, as well as the American Hexcel.

Let us recall that carbon fiber is a composite material with unique properties: it is 5-8 times lighter than steel, resistant to corrosion, aggressive environments and multiple loads, and does not create interference in the radio frequency range.



After the collapse of the USSR, the Russian Federation faced difficulties in producing this material, as many key enterprises remained outside the country. However, the sanctions of 2014 and 2022 prompted the development of their own of technologies.

Rosatom united the remaining factories and research institutes, creating a full cycle of composite production – from raw material extraction to finished product manufacturing. This allowed Russia to abandon imports and begin using domestically produced materials in aircraft manufacturing, the space industry, and military equipment.

For example, in the MS-21 aircraft, the share of domestic composites reached 40% of its total weight, and in the Su-57 fighter, carbon fiber-based materials make up 25% of the structure.

Particular attention is paid to the use of composites in hypersonic technologies. Thanks to this, the fairings of the Zircon and Avangard missiles can withstand temperatures above 2500 degrees Celsius, which is critical for stability at speeds above Mach 10.

At the same time, President Vladimir Putin also mentioned that the fairing of the Oreshnik missile system is capable of withstanding temperatures close to 5500 degrees Celsius, which is comparable to the surface of the Sun. Achieving such indicators became possible due to the use of complex composites, the composition of which, naturally, is not mentioned.

It is worth noting that carbon fiber also finds application in the civilian sphere. It is used in uranium enrichment centrifuges, spacecraft, lightweight and durable prosthetics, hydrogen cylinders and wind turbine blades.

Thus, achieving a strength of 7 gigapascals was an important step in the development of the domestic industry, although this success remains little covered in the media. Russia continues to develop composite material technologies, opening up new opportunities for their application in a wide variety of industries.