Siberians were interested in the rearmament of the army and the situation around Afghanistan
PHOTO: MINISTRY OF DEFENSE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
The development of industrial enterprises and science is an integral part in strengthening the defense capability of our country.
During a working trip to the troops of the Central Military District, the head of the Russian Defense Ministry visited one of the country’s leading aviation enterprises to assess the possibilities for modernizing and expanding the production of combat aircraft, including the creation of serial heavy-class attack drones. On the same day, Sergei Shoigu held a meeting with scientists of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Akademgorodok, where he discussed the possibilities of closer cooperation between fundamental science and the military department in the interests of strengthening the country’s defense capability. The correspondent of “MK” accompanied the minister on the trip.
The Novosibirsk Aircraft Factory became the first point of the Minister’s working trip. This year, the plant celebrated its 90th anniversary. During this time, the plant gave life to more than 30 thousand aircraft. The main products of Novosibirsk residents are the Su-34 front-line bomber that has been adopted.
It is designed to defeat ground, surface and air targets day and night, in simple and difficult weather conditions. All this is confirmed in the combat conditions in Syria. The aircraft has a crew of two people and can carry up to eight tons of weapons on 12 external suspension points, including guided air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles, aerial bombs, including adjustable, bomb cassettes and unguided rockets.
In the light-flooded spacious room of the final assembly shop, where the head of the military department was waiting, work was in full swing. Along the walls, on both sides, there are winged cars in different stages of readiness, several people are near each, everyone is busy. And it’s amazing, despite the active workflow, it’s so quiet that you involuntarily start talking in a low voice yourself. Only the rhythmic buzzing of instruments is heard.
– On the one hand, there is an assembly, on the other hand, there is a repair, – explains the employee of the plant accompanying us.
The man on the fuselage of the plane was seriously looking at some drawings. I noticed that there are a lot of women working here.
– Women mostly perform painstaking work related to electronics, – the interlocutor explains with a smile. – All because, in my opinion, they are more diligent.
– Colleagues, ten-minute readiness, – a female voice interrupts the narrator. Media representatives, as if on command, are armed with working tools: who is a camera, who is a dictaphone, and who is an old-fashioned notebook and pen.
The minister passes along the assembly line of bombers. The head of the United Aircraft Corporation, Yuri Slyusar, gives explanations on the move.
Shoigu noted that the military department has been developing, mastering and testing highly intelligent equipment for several years, where the latest achievements in the field of artificial intelligence are largely introduced and applied. The capabilities of such samples of equipment were confirmed in Syria.
“In particular, we are talking about Su-34 aircraft,” Shoigu explained. – I will say without details that new, modern, very effective types of weapons and intelligence have been mastered. We have achieved on this aircraft, perhaps, what we have long dreamed of – bringing the flight task to armament was reduced by almost three times.”
The minister noted that the plant fulfills the state defense order and thanked the factory workers.
A special topic is the assembly of prototypes of the new heavy unmanned aerial vehicle S-70 “Hunter”. The jet unmanned aircraft is hardly noticeable for the enemy’s air defense systems and is equipped with equipment for reconnaissance and aviation weapons of destruction. On August 3, 2019, the experimental sample made its first flight, which lasted more than 20 minutes. In the same year, the first joint 30-minute flight of the Hunter was performed with the fifth-generation Su-57 fighter.
“We hope that the work will be completed by 2022,” the minister said at a meeting held after inspecting the production facilities. – And we will be able to sign, as is now customary in the Armed Forces, a large long-term contract for drones. This is necessary so that the industry knows how to build its plans for the next 10 years, so that it can order and complete materials and other types of support.”
Then the tasks of creating a new aircraft were discussed without journalists.
Novosibirsk Akademgorodok is the second item in the program of the Minister’s visit to Novosibirsk. The “City of Scientists” is located twenty kilometers south of the center of Novosibirsk, on the right bank of the local reservoir.
The Mi-8 helicopter, cutting through the air with huge blades, takes us to Akademgorodok in just 20 minutes. By car, the journey would take much longer, and the minister’s program is very rich.
The hall was full in the House of Scientists, where the Minister met with scientists of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The conversation turned out to be interested and lively.
Shoigu noted the fruitful work of the defense industry enterprises in a difficult time for everyone. This, according to him, allowed us to look beyond the horizon of 10-13 years in matters of rearmament of the army and allows us to feel confident.
“Seven years ago, we thought about life-cycle contracts,” the minister said. – In 2012, it was equal to zero, now it has already reached 82 %. From creation to implementation. This is a breakthrough. If we talk about what we had before, then at the dawn of the third millennium , the level of confidence in the Russian army was 27%, now it is 71.5%. The army has become a pride and is ready to defend its country. We are one of the most modern armies… A lot had to be done to make the army prestigious, so that parents were not afraid to let their children go.”
The issue of equipping the Armed Forces, the minister noted, has never left the main agenda of the president.
“I see everyone is tired of tapping on the keys, I will not tire them anymore,” the minister joked. – I will be happy to talk to everyone, I will talk to them, because being at the Academy of Sciences, saying “I will answer questions” does not sound very good.
The scientific director of the Institute of Laser Physics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician Sergey Bagaev, proposed to improve the interaction of scientific organizations with the military department. The scientist complained that he is forced to actually visit Moscow every week to try to solve a number of promising issues on the work of the institute.
“We are doing everything to reduce the distance for science,” the minister replied. – We spend Days of innovation, starting with those who do something in the garage with a file, and ending with big science.”
The head of the Defense Ministry invited the scientist to the exhibition of equipment and weapons in the Patriot Park, where, according to him, science and the latest developments are presented “in the broadest sense”.
“Believe me, I spend a lot of time talking to everyone and looking at everyone. I visit your colleagues in Sarov. Thanks to their efforts and our constant attention, we have delivered such a wonderful weapon as the Peresvet. And we already have it in service today. In any case, I, and those who are engaged in science in the department, treat this very carefully,” the minister assured.
At the same time, he agreed that, in general, interaction with scientific institutions should be strengthened.
Answering the question of the deputy chairman of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician Nikolai Pokhilenko about how to change the attitude of the Ministry of Education and Science to the work of academic institutions in the interests of the “defense industry”, the head of the Ministry of Defense explained that he considers it necessary to change the estimated performance indicators of scientific institutions engaged in developments for the military-industrial complex.
The Defense Minister promised to support the idea of creating a National Council for Science and Education on the basis of the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and to head its board of Trustees, if such a structure is created.
“Naturally, I will approach with the utmost attention and study it,” Shoigu said.
The academician who expressed the idea asked to put this question to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In response, Shoigu said that he has his own views on the development of Siberia, sometimes not coinciding with the general opinion. “But I have them. And I, believe me, defend them, although this is not exactly the scope of my activity,” the minister noted.
The head of the Ministry of Defense told why scientific companies are being created in the armed forces. “Why would a university graduate go (serve) as an infantryman”? – the minister asked a rhetorical question.
According to him, of all the guys who served in scientific companies and the military technopolis “Era”, almost 580 people then went to work in military scientific organizations, research institutes and high – tech industries-military space, rocket science.
The minister noted that it is possible to get into such a company by a competition that reaches 25 people per place. At the same time, 17 scientific companies operate as part of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
Scientists and journalists of the Novosibirsk mass media asked about the epidemiological situation in the army. For example, whether the Ministry of Defense plans to continue working to combat coronavirus infection in other regions.
The Minister replied that the work is being carried out continuously, new vaccines are appearing. He stressed that the ministry responded to any appeal from the regions, and military doctors were involved in the treatment of civilian patients in 37 regions of the Russian Federation. “In the Moscow region, for example, we had 600 of our doctors involved, we cured more than 10 thousand there. We have worked in the Far East, in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, in the north, in Tuva and Khakassia, and we are ready to continue doing this, ” Shoigu said.
The problem of emigration of young scientists was voiced, which does not favorably affect the development of science in the region.
“I’m not judging anyone,” the minister said. Many people do not go for foie gras, but because they can not be realized at Home. Therefore, we need to think about how to create the necessary conditions for young people.
According to Shoigu, it makes sense to build three or five large cities in Siberia that would become industrial economic centers.
The final question was the situation in Afghanistan that was of concern to everyone. Are we on the verge of a second war? What measures are being taken to neutralize the threats emanating from Afghanistan?
“Our base in Tajikistan is quite powerful, strong, and of course, if necessary, in case of direct aggression, it will be involved in protecting the borders of the CSTO,” the minister reassured. – The same applies to our base in Kyrgyzstan. There may also be such a need.
– Does Russia help Tajikistan on an equal footing with other CSTO members? – one of the journalists is interested.
“The CSTO members cannot be on an equal footing with Russia in terms of their scale and defense potential, “Shoigu explained,” and they need help in the Afghan direction, since it is ultimately about Russia’s military security. We certainly hope that the agreements that exist with the Taliban movement (recognized as a terrorist organization and banned in the Russian Federation) will be implemented. But, having the past and the experience before, of course, it’s hard to believe it right away. We need to do this so that all this does not come to our country. And here it is necessary to support our CSTO members in every possible way, to help them.
The minister added that if we talk about money, it is not the money that we need to think about when we solve such tasks. He recalled that large Russian-Tajik-Uzbek exercises are beginning, where tasks related to the situation in the region will be worked out. The Russian army is represented there by more than a thousand servicemen, Shoigu said.
The meeting ended in an unusual way: the Novosibirsk residents asked the head of the military department to sign the book “About Yesterday”written by him. Many chapters of this book, by the way, are devoted to the Siberian construction projects, in which Sergei Shoigu participated in his youth. The Minister fulfilled the request.
The next day of the Minister’s trip to Siberia will be dedicated to the defense enterprises of Krasnoyarsk.