Problems in the sphere of the Russian defense-industrial complex (defense-industrial complex), the severity of which can be judged by the confrontation between arms manufacturers and the Ministry of Defense, were considered on Thursday during hearings in the Federation Council. Yuri Solomonov, who is the chief designer of the Moscow Institute of Heating Engineering, who always brings a lot of trouble to the Ministry of Defense with his sharp criticism, during his speech at the hearings predicted new problems associated with the implementation of the state defense order (SDO) for 2012.
So, Solomonov noted that at the moment the efforts of enterprises of the military-industrial complex are not coordinated with the actions of the Ministry of Defense. This task must be urgently resolved this year. This question is very acute and sensitive.
According to the Bulava developer, the situation is not as critical as last year, but this issue should be considered today, not tomorrow, at the forefront. Recall that it was Solomonov in July last year who first warned about the upcoming disruption of GOZ-2011.
By stating this, he thereby framed Sergei Ivanov, the then Deputy Prime Minister for Armaments, who was then forced to report to Dmitry Medvedev in front of television cameras on the measures taken to improve the situation.
The head of the Ministry of Defense Anatoly Serdyukov, who also suffered from the president, was also not spared. So, at the end of the meeting dedicated to the implementation of the instructions of the head of state, Dmitry Medvedev announced that he had read about the disruption of the state defense order (however, the name of Solomonov was not named, although it was obvious that the president was referring precisely to his interview, which was published in the same day). He demanded to immediately understand the situation and either dismiss the persons who thwarted the state defense order, or "shoot the alarmists."
After that, the military department more than once promised to conclude contracts in the very near future, but after the July presidential order, 4 months passed before the state defense order was fulfilled by 100%.
However, this time Solomonov did not limit himself only to criticism, but also praised strategic nuclear weapons, in which the Russian Federation is 10-15 years ahead of the whole world.
The General Designer of MIT listed the tasks that were fully completed last year. He referred to them the development and adoption of the Topol-M strategic missile ground-based in 2 versions, as well as the Yars missile system, which has the first solid-fuel missile with split heads, and the completion of flight tests of the Bulava sea-based missile system …
He also noted that over the 10 years of development of the field of the construction of nuclear weapons, it was possible to achieve production efficiency, which was absent in the years of the Soviet planned economy. In his report, Yuri Solomonov relied on the assessment given by the Joint Chiefs of Staff. According to him, it is difficult to suspect this committee of anything, including bias.
Nevertheless, according to him, in the defense industry there are still problems associated with a partial lag in the production base, with a lag in some scientific and technical issues.
In this regard, Solomonov supported the proposal put forward by the chairman of the military-industrial commission to create a special fund.
The scientist summed up, saying that one cannot think about tomorrow, having technologies 30 years ago. In this regard, the foundation that Dmitry Rogozin (Deputy Prime Minister for the military-industrial complex) talked about creating and which is supported by all, is needed like air.
In turn, Alexander Sukhorukov, First Deputy Minister of Defense, in his speech at the hearings announced the existence of claims of the military department to the quality of products of the Russian defense industry. According to him, over the past years there has been a stable and serious decline in product quality. Compared to 2009, the number of claims in 2010 was 20% more, in 2011 - even more.
In addition, the main reason for the delay in the implementation of the state defense order in 2011, Sukhorukov considers the inflated prices of suppliers. He said that according to the analysis carried out by the Ministry of Defense, prices for military products are showing an increase of 15-20% per year. As a result, prices for military products doubled within 5 years.
During the same hearings in the Federation Council, Deputy Prime Minister Rogozin, who stood up to defend domestic manufacturers of weapons and military equipment, promised to give the defense industry a more competitive look by 2020. In his report, he said that the appearance will be represented by 40 large research and production companies capable of self-development and effective asset management, as well as being able to actively position themselves not only in the Russian market, but also internationally.
According to Rogozin, the rate of economic growth in the military-industrial complex significantly exceeds the rate of development of the civilian industry. So, the volume of industrial production in 2009-2011 in the defense industry increased by 1, 3 times, labor productivity during the same time - by 1, 6 times.
The Deputy Prime Minister stressed that many defense organizations have a serious development resource.
He also opposed the use of the media as a platform for disputes between the Defense Ministry and the defense industry. He said that discussions regarding the quality of domestic weapons should only take place within the professional workshop.
According to Rogozin, all claims from the Ministry of Defense to the quality of domestic products should be discussed and expressed only at specialized meetings. He clarified that such meetings are held only with the participation of design teams of defense enterprises.
Earlier, Rogozin challenged the rather harsh criticism of industrialists from General Nikolai Makarov, head of the General Staff. He said that the Ground Forces were dissatisfied with any proposed model, from small arms to armored vehicles, and that in some of their characteristics, Russian products were seriously inferior to their Western competitors.
In this regard, according to Makarov, the Russian army will not purchase armored vehicles for the next 5 years. This term was given to the developers in order to create a completely new and undeniably high-quality one. Rogozin, commenting on this speech on Twitter, said that the rearmament of the army and navy will take place as planned, and hinted that the General Staff is not the only department making decisions on the procurement of weapons and military equipment.
Last Wednesday, there were reports that the Russian government was ready to give the state defense order to control Rogozin and the government. Some print media wrote that the federal service "Rosoboronzakaz" would leave the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense, and the functions of the state customer would be divided between the departments of the industrial block. Their work will take place under the close scrutiny of the military-industrial commission under the government.
According to the same print media, the changes will most likely be approved no earlier than mid-June, after the inauguration of the new president has passed and the State Duma has approved the new prime minister.
However, Rogozin denied such rumors. He said that the solution to this issue is within the jurisdiction of the government of the Russian Federation, and the Russian president will think about it. All conversations on this topic are just speculations.
According to a high-ranking source in the Kremlin, no decisions have been made on this issue. He recommended to some members of the Russian government "to stop the fuss over this issue." He also added that only the new president, upon the recommendation of the new chairman of the government, will make a decision on who will be responsible for the implementation of the state defense order.
