Scandals around the Ministry of Defense and the Russian military-industrial complex do not stop. Moreover, if the conflict caused by the interview of Academician Solomonov was, as it were, in itself, then the series of scandals timed to coincide with the MAKS-2011 air show near Moscow finally demonstrated that this is not only a price conflict between manufacturers of military equipment and buyers from the military department. And not about product quality claims. In fact, we are talking about open resistance to the activities of the Minister of Defense and his team, on the one hand, and a number of leaders of the military-industrial complex, on the other
Scandalous publications flashed in the domestic media with incredible frequency. Moreover, the appearance of some of them without the assistance of interested persons of not the lowest level would be impossible.
When the Hero of Russia, Honored Test Pilot Magomed Tolboyev in an interview with Moskovsky Komsomolets says: "What is the fifth generation of fighters - these are the 80s, we flew them then! They were invented thirty years ago, and we show them in 2011" - this is unpleasant, but not too surprising. How not particularly surprising is his message that they want to sell the central air force base of the Moscow Military District - the Kubinka airfield - to some billionaire. Of course, this is a direct accusation against the Minister of Defense, but we are already used to such things.
But when a journalist from the same newspaper is shown through the shops of the Avangard plant, which produces S-300 missiles, telling in detail how things are going at the enterprise, this is something new. Especially when, at the same time, from the explanations of an anonymous worker of the plant it turns out that the military is deceiving everyone: the S-300 missiles are no longer being produced, the S-400 missiles, allegedly taken into service, in fact, are not yet available, and the promised missile " S-500 "is still a myth. And the wonderful maxim, expressed by the representative of Avangard: “We are led by people who hardly imagine what the missiles that we are making look like. three for the S-400 complex to take place."
No, it is by no means only questions of the price of weapons that lie at the heart of the conflict that has flared up.
But then MAKS began, and the problems of army purchases again came to the fore. On the very first day of the air show, it became clear that a number of contracts, which, as previously planned, would be concluded between the Ministry of Defense and aircraft building corporations, would not take place. The first to announce this at a press conference was Mikhail Pogosyan, the head of the United Aircraft Corporation. In this case, it was about the supply of shipborne MiG-29Ks. Following this, Russian Helicopters announced that a contract for the supply of Ka-52 helicopters for the ground forces was still in the negotiation stage. And nothing has been decided about helicopters for the French Mistral: the military still do not know how many to order for this ship.
By the way, after the scandal caused by the interview of Academician Solomonov, President Dmitry Medvedev gave instructions to complete the execution of contracts for the state defense order in the summer. Summer is coming to an end, and representatives of almost all firms say that they have no new contracts for this year under the state defense order
Of course, in the defense industry we have optimists who hope that contracts can be concluded in September-October this year (this is the best case). However, the time for technological execution of the order for most military products is 8, 9, 10 months, so the state defense order-2011, despite the urgent demands of the country's leadership, was again thwarted. And the question of whether our army will have modern weapons is being discussed not only in the offices of officials, but also in the media, having almost completely lost its former secrecy.
It may well be that it was the publicity of the conflict that forced the military to come to an agreement with the Russian Helicopters holding and the Moscow Institute of Heat Engineering. Even before the completion of the aerospace show, the Ministry of Defense signed contracts with helicopter builders for the supply of more than 450 rotorcraft by the end of the year. "As part of the state defense order for 2011, seven long-term contracts have been signed with the Ministry of Defense, three are short-term, and one contract for the supply of Ka-52 helicopters is in the process of being signed," said Dmitry Petrov, director of the Russian Helicopters holding company, expressing confidence the fact that this year's state order for the supply of helicopters will be fulfilled. From day to day it is expected to sign an agreement with MIT - the institute of the first troublemaker, Yuri Solomonov.
But there are no signed contracts with the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) and the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC). The Ministry of Defense is still dissatisfied with the prices for the offered products, considering them unreasonable. As a result, according to informed sources, contracts for the supply of 24 MiG-29K fighters and 65 training Yak-130 with a total value of about $ 3 billion will not be concluded until August 31. This will happen only when the Ministry of Defense agrees with the manufacturers on the price.
True, there are also export orders, which representatives of the military-industrial complex forget about in the heat of the fight against Minister Serdyukov. But the head of Rosoboronexport, Anatoly Isaikin, is full of optimism. Arms supplies to Syria continue under previously concluded contracts. And among them, by the way, are Yak-130 aircraft and various simulators for them. In his opinion, good prospects are opening up in trade with Jordan and Bahrain. According to Isaykin's forecast, in 2011 Rosoboronexport will exceed last year's plans for the supply of weapons to foreign customers and will export more than $ 9 billion. And the portfolio of orders of the company headed by him, according to Isaykin, in the first half of this year exceeded $ 36 billion. And the largest volumes are accounted for by equipment for the Air Force.
Why, when talking to journalists, do representatives of the military-industrial complex bypass these questions? Does Rosoboronexport sell military equipment produced in other countries?
What is happening today between the military-industrial complex and the Ministry of Defense is not just a fight for money. It is also a struggle for a whole range of interests, first of all, the interests of groups of people at the head of the opposing sides. This is what determines their tactics: the military is trying not to make a fuss, and representatives of the military-industrial complex give lengthy interviews and take journalists to the shops of closed enterprises. The military and officials who have ridden the defense industry seek to resolve all issues in their favor in the quiet of their offices. Producers who find themselves in a disadvantageous situation are trying to "wash dirty linen in public," seeing in this the only hope for a fair, from their point of view, distribution of funds. If the confrontation drags on, the defense industry may simply collapse, leaving the army at the mercy of Western arms manufacturers.
If the country's leadership does not want the situation to develop according to such a scenario, it is time for it to use power to immediately end the conflict between the Ministry of Defense and the military-industrial complex. Until it's not too late.
