Over the past several months, one of the main topics has been import substitution. In connection with the deterioration of the international situation, Russian enterprises lose the opportunity to purchase foreign components, which is why they are forced to master the production of their own analogues. There is and is being implemented an import substitution program, which, it is said, has already led to some results. Nevertheless, in a number of areas the situation still leaves much to be desired.
On June 9, the RBC news agency published an interview with the General Director of JSC "Information Satellite Systems" im. Academician M. F. Reshetnev Nikolay Testoedov. The general director of the enterprise spoke about some of the specifics of the work, the current state of affairs and prospects. At the same time, in the spirit of the times, the interview began with a question about sanctions from foreign states. As it turned out, the deterioration of the situation in the international arena could seriously hit some branches of the domestic industry due to the rather large dependence on foreign partners.
According to N. Testoedov, in the context of sanctions, the greatest risks are observed in the supply of foreign element base, namely electronic components of the highest quality, at the space-military level. Such components are designed for operation in difficult conditions, primarily in open space. Such products, regardless of their resemblance to "ordinary" ones, can be hundreds of times more expensive. In the production of these components, special materials and technologies are used, and the finished product undergoes special special tests. Unfortunately, now Russia has lost access to most of the names of such products, since they are manufactured in the United States.
In the workshop of JSC "ISS named after Reshetnev". Photo Iss-reshetnev.ru
The General Director of Information Satellite Systems (ISS) notes the highest dependence of its production on imports. N. Testoedov said that from 25 to 75 percent of the components used in the production of spacecraft are supplied by foreign partners. The exact share of imported hardware components depends on the purpose of the satellites. So, in commercial vehicles, the number of domestic components is noticeably less than in military ones.
The main foreign suppliers cooperating with ISS were companies from the United States. They account for up to 83-87% of all imports. N. Testoedov named the reason for this leadership of American components as their high quality and the desire of ISS to receive only the best foreign-made products.
Due to foreign sanctions, the domestic industry was left without some necessary foreign-made products. Commenting on this situation, the general director of Information Satellite Systems noted that in terms of exposure to risks, existing projects can be divided into three categories. The first, risk-free, includes spacecraft and launch vehicles, which are already fully equipped with all the necessary products. The satellites that will be launched after 2019 are also relatively safe. They are initially designed with the elimination of sanctioned components in mind.
The third category of spacecraft is currently in the most difficult position - satellites, which are planned to be built in 2016-17. Among these products are satellites of the GLONASS system, as well as some devices ordered by various government departments.
N. Testoedov believes that there are many ways to avoid import restrictions and prohibitions. At the same time, he notes that it is necessary to remember the difference between import substitution and import independence. General Director of ISS im. Reshetnev”regularly reminds his colleagues that import substitution implies the replacement of foreign components with Russian ones, while the development of projects based on domestic or available imported products should be called import independence.
The general director of ISS notes that domestic enterprises now depend not only on the supplied devices. There is some dependence on the mathematics embedded in them. In addition, there are some specific problems associated with the software used. N. Testoedov reminds that foreign design software contains not only a set of design tools, but also a base of modern components. Thus, the programs literally suggest from which elements a new product should be assembled.
This approach to creating projects is convenient and not critical, but only as long as there is free access to the entire element base. This is exactly what Russian designers had to face in connection with the latest foreign sanctions. However, the domestic industry has taken some measures. After the imposition of sanctions, an analysis of the situation with the databases and the availability of components was carried out. It turned out that some of the products recommended by the design software may well be replaced by other similar products. Thus, it was possible to replace about a third of the necessary components. In addition, some of the required products have been unified. As a result, the list of required products was reduced several times. It now contains about a thousand items.
However, the search for alternatives is associated with some problems. N. Testoedov notes that the replacement of components with analogs, according to various estimates, will lead to an increase in the dimensions and weight of finished products by about 30%. Despite this, the functionality and parameters of the spacecraft will remain at the required level. In such a situation, there is little good, but so far it has been possible to meet all the requirements of customers.
The general director of ISS is forced to admit that there are serious problems in the industry. Due to difficulties with the supply of components, the lead time for some orders may noticeably shift. Some projects will be completed about two years later than originally planned. All this is due to objective reasons. Due to the sanctions, domestic specialists now need to purchase alternative components, develop and assemble devices based on them, and then test them. All this will take some time.
From the words of N. Testoedov, it follows that such problems in general are not a novelty for domestic specialists. The fact is that the development and production of spacecraft, even without sanctions, is a long and complicated undertaking. The production of a serial satellite now takes 3-4 years, depending on the complexity of the work. It can take up to 15 years to develop a new project. At the same time, the element base changes every 5-7 years. In practice, this means that by the end of the development of the project, it is necessary to change some components for more modern products. Thus, some semblance of the current import substitution is always present in the industry. The current sanctions have only strengthened this process several times over.
As you can see, the domestic industry is taking all the necessary steps to maintain the production of the necessary products with the refusal and replacement of components that have come under sanctions. Unfortunately, the current import substitution may be associated with certain difficulties. So, in the context of spacecraft production by Information Satellite Systems, such projects are faced with an increase in the size and weight of finished products, as well as with a shift in terms.
Nevertheless, as follows from the words of the general director of ISS, the main problems are now associated with the projects of satellites, which will be built over the next few years. The development of these projects is already in full swing, but now it is faced with the lack of a number of important components. As a result, most of the documentation will now have to be redone taking into account the new conditions. This will result in a noticeable shift in the timing to the right.
In connection with the deteriorating international situation and sanctions against Russia, an import substitution program was developed. Over the next few years, it is planned to master the production of several thousand items of various products that are needed by the defense industry and other industries. How successful this program will be - time will tell. So far, there are reasons for both optimism and concern.
