Stupid projectiles did not wait for smart heads
Having worked two weeks in the new year, the team of the Tula Scientific Research Technological Institute (TNITI), which specializes in machine tool construction, was again sent on forced leave for two months - until March 31. Are the artillery ammunition finished or will it be on the April agenda?
The critical situation with the production of shells did not exist today. To put it more precisely - with non-production. The topic raised by the "Military-Industrial Courier" last fall ("The Hungry God of War") is far from being closed.
"From the inviolable state stock of artillery shells by 2006, 20 percent remained"
To avoid a greater misfortune than in 1941, it is imperative to restore mass production of shells, which is impossible without the rise of machine-tool building, primarily the Tula Scientific Research Technological Institute.
As for the machine tool industry in general, in May 2015, the industry experienced another 43% drop compared to the previous year, and new production facilities created in Ulyanovsk and the Tula region are of a screwdriver nature. In addition, their products are not suitable for the manufacture of large-caliber shells, the main ones in modern artillery. Meanwhile, TNITI this year promised an order for only one shell machine.
No applause needed
The specialized computing subsystem SVP-24, installed on Russian attack aircraft and bombers, caused a sensation - in Syria, free-fall bombs that are outdated in all respects are massively used, which are delivered to the target with the accuracy of the most modern homing ammunition. Russia can now use the huge reserves of "stupid" bombs accumulated during the Cold War, which are hardly endless. And each is capable of hitting a target with phenomenal accuracy - three to five meters.
A reasonable question arises: why were the army analogues of aerial bombs - 152-mm artillery shells - destroyed over the course of two decades. Surely something like the SVP-24 can be created for large-caliber guns. Moreover, the system - let's call it SVP-152 for simplicity - will turn out to be simpler and cheaper than an aviation one, since the cannon stands still or moves with a tank and self-propelled gun much slower than an aircraft.
If the production of new artillery shells were stopped in order to successfully use the huge Soviet stock with new sighting systems, it would be understandable. But he's gone. It was largely destroyed by fires in warehouses and explosions at landfills. There is also no system, which we conditionally called SVP-152.
The company that produces the SVP-24 has long sought to adopt its design into service - there were many opponents in the Ministry of Defense. One can only speculate why the generals opposed the appearance of the SVP-24. After all, its introduction cut down the uncontrolled disposal of aerial bombs: how many were destroyed, and how many disappeared in other ways - go and find out.
The artillery shells were less fortunate - no one invented an SVP for them, but they were proud of the Krasnopoli and Whale catchers. The result is beyond praise. India was last shipped at $ 37,000 apiece. But it is unlikely that our famous gunsmiths of the level of Grabin and Shipunov would applaud these victories.
Special Endurance Shells
Before starting the process of barbarous disposal of shells, it would be worth re-reading the book by Vasily Grabin "Weapon of Victory": "… in artillery, the duration of storage of ammunition was set at 25 years, and even after this period they should serve flawlessly." Artillery inspector corps commander N. N. Voronov, when testing a new Grabin gun, refused to replace the French shells that had been in warehouses since 1915, despite the fact that there were ruptures of casings made of poor brass, which had lost its plastic properties. “There are so many French shells in the army that it is impossible to use them up in practice firing. Well, would you order them to be thrown away?"
As for the rest, there were no complaints about the shells, and the Grabinites … "created a different breech that ensures the extraction of the exploded cartridge case." This is the attitude! And in the War Ministry of the model of the 2000s, they preferred to climb into the emergency reserve for maneuvers, rather than use ammunition with expired storage periods. After all, it was possible to extend the service life, periodically shooting a certain amount from the parties. It was possible to disarm products in an industrial way, keeping the "hulls" and other metal parts that make up the lion's share of the cost. Nevertheless, 108 million artillery shells were sentenced to death and immediately carried out at 68 training grounds and 193 detonation sites in all military districts.
Where does such zeal come from? Who did the undestroyed shells burn their pockets to?
In the same two thousandth they did much wiser with ballistic missiles. The initial warranty period (10 years) for the operation of Topol mobile soil complexes has been extended several times. The last time was before 2019, and it seems that it has already reached 30 years.
We will rejoice for the Topol, but artillery shells could have been given the same expiration date … Are they really less reliable? There are also a few parts and all have passed 100 percent inspection. Therefore, 108 million disposed shells could still be used - some 10, and others and all 30 years.
Thunder struck. What about a man?
Let's walk through the basics. First, there must be an inviolable state supply of artillery shells for at least a year of war. As far as we know, 20 percent of it remained by 2006.
Secondly, the current production should be massive, in the millions. Moreover, the NZ should be replenished. In addition, it will be too late to unfold during a special period - you will have to fight with what is available.
Thirdly, only a production consisting of highly productive equipment, automatic lines, and ideally fully automated, can provide the release of cheap and high-quality products that meet the requirements of the time. It took TNITI 25 years to reach this level.
The main reason for the institute's failure to realize itself in the pseudo-market Russian economy is not the weakness of the leadership, which is far from shell production, but the lack of orders from the industry's factories. And so, shell machines are not needed because of the reduction of the state order to a minimum, dangerous for the country's defense.
For the time being, the very existence of the institute, which retained the ability and ability to manufacture shell machines (all the years, at least piece by piece, but did it), inspired hopes that there would be a go-ahead and we would be able to quickly return everything to square one.
But thunder struck (the war in the Donbass and Syria), and the "man" in the person of the officials in charge of the shell business is in no hurry to be baptized.
The wear of the machine park in the industry is from 80 to 100 percent, and no one asks for new equipment. This can only be explained by the fact that production is engaged in "self-criticism" - it dismantles some machines for parts, completing others. This is possible only under the condition of a completely microscopic government order.
Therefore, those who are to blame for the plight of TNITI must be sought at the very top. Apparently, the modern Russian Military Doctrine, as has already happened in our history, has ceased to regard artillery as the "God of War". It becomes clear that it seems to someone that artillery shells seem to have outlived their days. Hence the neglect of production and machine tools.
But you can't joke with that. The industry was not grown in one day, and not even for years, but for decades. A quarter of a century of oblivion can come back to haunt with very grave consequences.
Help "VPK"
No orders, debts remain
Tula Scientific Research Technological Institute (TNITI) was founded on April 27, 1961 as an inter-branch design and engineering and technological bureau for automation and mechanization of mechanical engineering. In 1994, it was transformed into JSC TNITI.
The Institute has developed and implemented unique operating machines in mass quantities, providing shell production at all factories of this profile in the USSR. In the 90s, due to the almost complete disappearance of the state order for its products, TNITI found itself in a difficult economic situation. Currently, the question is about the existence of a unique institution: out of 3500 people, 280 remained, debts, as of mid-December 2015, are 330 million rubles.
