Vladimir Putin collects Russia's defense industry

The vivid trend of ensuring the state control over the strategic industries, called by some specialists “collecting of the industry” does not deal only with the recent activities of the government in shipbuilding and aircraft building. The same processes take place on the next step lower levels.

Photo: Vladimir Putin collects Russia's defense industry

According to the deputy head of the department on conventional arms of the Federal Agency of Industry Vadim Gruzdov four large holdings are at different stages of formation in this branch. One is better known Industrial Corporation UralWagonZavod (so called tank holding). The second corporation is "Optical Systems and Technologies". The third corporation concerns high precision arms. The forth corporation shall be formed on a volunteer basis and will include all companies making products which cannot be related to any of the above sectors. These are so called suppliers of the 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th echelon.

The end of the formation of the holding "Helicopters of Russia" is planned for the first half of 2007 under the umbrella of Oboronprom, Rosoboronexport’s daughter. It will incorporate all manufacturers and designers of helicopters into a single structure. Simultaneously Oboronprom plans to strengthen the control over two major participants of the helicopter holding: Kazan Helicopter Plant and the Rostov based company "Rostvertol". According to the press-secretary of Oboronprom Ilya Yakushev the new structure will be 100 % daughter of Oboronprom, which will pass over to this structure its helicopter stocks: 36% MVZ Mil, 68% Ulan-Ude, 29,9% KVZ, 49,5% "Kamov", 100% "Kamov-holding", 50,5% MMZ "Vpered" and 60% Stupino MPP. According to Mr. Yakushev after transferring the helicopter assets to the daughter company Oboronprom intends to concentrate on other investment projects, such as creating the holding of the manufacturers of radio-electronic warfare means and integration of the aviation engine builders.

Engines makers are likely to follow the shipbuilders, i.e. the integration is planned as early as in 2007. According to the head of the Federal Agency of Industry Boris Aleshin this year they are likely to be integrated but not within the frameworks of the United Aviation Building Company ( ОАК ) . Besides, Boris Aleshin does not exclude that in the future the enterprises now under the umbrella of Oboronprom, including the helicopter ones, will enter ОАК. "After all Oboronprom itself can enter ОАК in some form", he said. Meanwhile Russian aviation engine builders demonstrate significant economic growth. The increase was: VIAM – by 20%, Hyproaviaprom - 58 %, "Aviadvigatel"- 44 %, "Krasny Oktyabr" - 47 %, Tchernyshev - 63 %, MMPP "Salute" - 15 %. The production volumes of "NPO "S aturn" dropped by 5 %.

Before 2015 the Russian government will set up 3-4 large space holdings, according to the head of the Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) Anatoly Perminov. "We precisely follow this plan" he said. Today the branch consists of 112 leading enterprises employing over 240 thousand people. After building new large corporations the number of the enterprises and the workers will decrease. Reforms carried out by Roscosmos will last till 2015. Today Russian space related manufacturing has about 30-40% redundant production capacities. Anatoly Perminov informed that the space agency started developing the basic document in the field of space activities of Russia which would regulate the branch till 2040. “The task was put by the President of the Russian Federation. This problem will be solved within 2007 then the document will be presented to the government and the President”.

Tactical Missiles Corporation (TMC) may be regarded as a patriarch of the reformed Russian military-industrial complex. This January it celebrated its five years' anniversary. The company was formed under the Decree of the President of Russia of January, 24th, 2002 on the basis of the federal state unitary enterprise «State Research-and-Production Center the "Zvezda-Strela", one of the leading enterprises of Russia in the sphere of missiles arms for AF and Navy. TMC will deliver practically all arms for the Russian 5-th generation fighter. A significant part of TMC’s missiles is made in the interests of the Russian Navy and also delivered to the Navies of other countries. According to the forecasts of independent experts, till 2012 TMC will account for 12,3% of the world deliveries of anti ship missiles, whereas the share of the leading American company Boeing will not exceed 9%.

Some time ago Vice-Premier Sergey Ivanov noted that there is certain competition between the companies-traditional rivals inside the newly created ОАК , for example, "Mig" and "Sukhoi". "Certain competition remains, because both remain as structural divisions in OAK". At the same time he noted, that "all world experience of the development of the aircraft construction in general, and fighting aircraft in particular, demonstrates that there is no competition among aviation builders inside single countries, which is almost monopoly". Such “competition” is not principle. The principle is that Russian holdings intend to compete not with each another, but with the foreign competitors.

Yuri Seleznyov
Pravda.ru