Chief of the General Staff N. Makarov said at a meeting of the Public Chamber that most of the Russian military equipment lags behind in technical development, yielding superiority to their foreign counterparts. According to the general, the firing range of the Israeli combat tank Merkava-MK4 is more than several times higher than the Russian T-90, and the American HIMARS (missile artillery system) hits targets at a distance of 150 km against the 70 km of the Russian Smerch.
He also drew attention to the imperfection of space optoelectronic devices, which are capable of staying in orbit for about 5 years, while foreign technology - up to 15 years. As a result, the country has to spend significantly more on their production. In addition, N. Makarov added a few words about the inability of Russian military equipment to provide a higher level of protection for soldiers and officers during the battle. He stressed that the technique must be improved in such a way that the crew would remain alive under any circumstances.
A little earlier (in March 2011), similar statements were made by Alesander Postnikov, Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces. He stressed that the produced military equipment does not correspond to the parameters of NATO. He said that the T-90 tank is just an improved copy of the T-72, and its price is 118 million rubles, and that it would be more profitable to buy Leopards for that kind of money.
At present, the Ministry of Defense makes higher demands on the products of the military-industrial complex. The fact that the military industry can compete with foreign was proved by the visit of D. Medvedev and V. Putin to the Gorky Automobile Plant. During the visit, they were asked to familiarize themselves with the new GAZ models, as well as the developments of wheeled armored vehicles. New armored vehicles "Tiger", police special vehicle "Bear" and BTR-82A were demonstrated.
Armored vehicles of the "Tiger" family (and these are "Tiger 6a", "Tiger" MK-BLA-01 ") were created on the initiative of designers, engineers and workers of the" Military Industrial Company ". "Tiger 6a" provides ballistic protection of 6a class, and thanks to the installation of additional plates on the bottom and in the body of energy-saving seats, mine protection has also increased.
The complex "Tiger" MK-BLA-01 "was created on the basis of the chassis of the police car" Tiger "with the fifth booking class. It was created for the transportation and use of at least two unmanned aerial vehicles for a certain period of time, processing various kinds of information. The use of such complexes will make it possible to use UAVs in groups and increase the level of their mobility and security.
The President and the Prime Minister were shown the effectiveness of the Tiger, BTR-82 and Medved in practice. The vehicles overcame rows of obstacles in a small area of terrain. D. Medvedev and V. Putin were also given the opportunity to check these armored vehicles. They chose the "Bear", and after descending from the cockpit, shared their impressions. According to them, they liked the technique, it is maneuverable and obedient in management, and they also liked the fact that the engine is of domestic production (which is very important).
But if the problem with military equipment is somehow solved, then the problem with the shortage of conscripts has not yet been resolved. N. Makarov said that more and more youths of military age are being given deferrals, so that of the total number, only about 12 percent remain, and half of them are swept aside for health reasons. So there is practically no one to call. But the country cannot yet give up the call and switch to a contract army, because this requires a lot of money. To date, about 19 thousand conscripts from 90 thousand young men have been sent to military service, according to the results of medical commissions, they were recognized as fit for the army. And this while it was planned to recruit 135 thousand troops.
