GOSCOMVOYENPROM SUMS UP 2011–2015 RESULTS

On 29 January 2016, the Goscomvoyenprom collegium held a meeting headed by Chairman of Goscomvoyenprom Sergei Gurulev. During the meeting, the participants summed up the results of the Goscomvoyenprom companies’ activities in 2011-2015 and defined the measures for ensuring their sustainable development in 2016.
The meeting was attended by Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Semashko, Belarusian Defence Minister Lieutenant-General Andrei Ravkov, representatives of cooperating agencies, heads of Goscomvoyenprom’s departments, heads of the Goscomvoyenprom organisations and defence companies.
State Secretary of the Security Council Stanislav Zas attended the meeting to carry out an honourable mission: on behalf of the President he presented the Belarusian State Military Industrial Committee (Goscomvoyenprom) with the main symbol of honour – the Banner and certificate of merit.
The Banner of the Belarusian State Military Industrial Committee was established by President’s Decree No. 431 of 15 October 2015.
Presenting the Banner of the Belarusian State Military Industrial Committee to the Committee’s chairman, State Secretary of the Belarusian Security Council Stanislav Zas said that the date of 29 January 2016, the day of handing the Banner over to the Committee, would be included in the annals of Goscomvoyenprom along with the date of 30 December 2003, the day when Goscomvoyenprom was established.
“The Banner of the State Military Industrial Committee is a symbol of confidence of the state and the Belarusian President in your team and appreciation of your hard work that is necessary for the country,” said the State Secretary of the Security Council in his congratulatory speech.
According to Zas, over a decade the Belarusian State Military Industrial Committee has gone through the stages of formation and development and become a national administrative body.
The head of the Security Council noted the Goscomvoyenprom’s activities that have made it possible to carry out a flexible centralisation of management of all entities responsible for military-technical policy implementation, optimise the structure of Goscomvoyenprom’s departments and introduce up-to-date management models, which help to reduce costs and improve efficiency and quality of production.
As a result, the Belarusian defenсe industry has been transformed into a functional system.
Assessing the Goscomvoyenprom’s activities in today’s challenging environment, Stanislav Zas said that the Committee did much to improve the defence sector, systematically and consistently modernised organisations within its system, introduced advanced technologies and innovations, attracted investments in new production facilities. Particular attention is paid to enhancing the prestige of engineering personnel and engineering specialities.
According to the State Secretary of the Security Council, coordinated and purposeful work of the organisations provide stable growth of social and economic indicators and quality and timely fulfilment of contractual obligations both in a state defence order, and within the framework of Belarusian military-technical cooperation with foreign countries.
The achieved results prove conclusively that the chosen course is right.
Stanislav Zas thanked the Committee’s personnel, heads of companies and their assistants for their high professionalism, dedicated work and invaluable contribution they make to ensure the country’s defence capability and national security, as well as expressed confidence that they would continue preserving and developing the traditions of their predecessors and accomplish the assigned tasks with honour, while maintaining high standards of professionalism and responsibility.
The results of the companies’ efforts expressed not by words but specific deeds could be seen at the exhibition of solutions (examples of products) developed by the Goscomvoyenprom companies in 2015.
The companies exhibited information materials on the development of companies in 2016, full-scale and mock-up examples of systems that enter or are planned to enter the inventory of the Belarusian Armed Forces and uniformed departments, as well as have a high export potential. The exhibition featured a number of products developed by teams of contributors who won the 2015 Goscomvoyenprom Prize in Science and Technology.
Chairman of Goscomvoyenprom Sergei Gurulev in his report focused on a detailed analysis of the development and modernisation of the Goscomvoyenprom companies and indicators of socio-economic development that were achieved, as well as examples of products that are already being manufactured and those that are planned for production in 2016. Sergei Gurulev summed up the results of state sci-tech and industrial programmes and identified the key tasks for the current year, which opens a new five-year phase of development to 2020.
According to Sergei Gurulev, 2015 was the final year of the Goscomvoyenprom’s five-year development programme, the main goal of which was to create conditions for strengthening the defence sector’s capabilities in the production of up-to-date and advanced weapons for equipping the Armed Forces, other troops, military units and paramilitary organisations, as well as for enhancing military-technical cooperation.
According to the chairman of Goscomvoyenprom, the main result of the 2011-2015 five-year period was the implementation of the 2011-2015 Goscomvoyenprom’s development programme in major integrated projects, as well as the 2011-2015 Goscomvoyenprom’s innovative development programme and the 2011-2015 State Armament Programme. Three key tasks were being accomplished while implementing the programmes: development of advanced weapons systems and military and special equipment; development of the national defence sector; military-technical cooperation with foreign countries.
Sergei Gurulev emphasised that the approach to the development of advanced weapons systems had been multifaceted: transition from production of disparate devices to production of systems was carried out. This has significantly increased their combat capabilities and competitiveness in domestic and foreign markets.
While implementing the projects, efforts in the development of new weapons were taken in the following areas: military geoinformation systems; systems for countering precision weapons; fielding of unmanned aircraft systems; fire weapons; development of combat systems for special operations and land forces.
From 2011 to 2015, defence companies independently and in cooperation have developed unmanned aircraft systems, multiple launch rocket systems, lightly-armoured vehicles and vehicles for carrying weapons systems, radar systems, automation systems, as well as reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and communications systems.
The most important results of the defence companies’ activities were new advanced weapons, which were showcased at the parade of the Minsk garrison on 9 May 2015 to mark the 70th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
Within a short time Belarusian defence companies developed and productionised the Lis lightly-armoured vehicles and a combat system that is on a par with the best world analogues.
Tests of the new long-range MRLS Polonez, which were conducted in June 2015, confirmed the capabilities of this high-precision weapons system.
Belarusian defence companies developed and productionised advanced communications and data transmission systems (P-261 Muscat communication equipment vehicle, radio relay stations Tsitrus, Potok (R-429) and Liniya (R-424), portable digital radio stations R-180 and R-181), radars and electronic warfare systems (Vostok radar system, Rosa-RB radar system, Groza jamming system, Naves jammer intended to jam navigation systems and GPS), as well as carried out upgrades and overhaul of almost all radars in service with the Belarusian Armed Forces.
New examples of tactical unmanned aerial vehicles Berkut-1 and Berkut-2 (included in the inventory), as well as Grif-100 (will be delivered to the military in 2016) have been produced. An aviation technical centre for maintenance and use of unmanned aircraft systems was established at the 558th Aircraft Repair Plant (the 558th ARZ), up-to-date machining equipment was purchased, and new production facilities were put into operation.
In addition, the MZKT-600200 and MZKT-500200 Zastava vehicles were productionised. The Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant (MZKT) began developing the lightly-armoured vehicle V-1. The ADUNOK robotic system was productionised.
Repair and upgrade of Su-25 and MiG-29 aircraft and upgrade of the BM-21 Grad MLRS to the BM-21-M Belgrad are carried out.
Defence companies contributed to fielding of about 900 items of advanced, upgraded and repaired weapons systems and military and special equipment.
Since 2011, defence companies have implemented seven innovative projects included in the 2011-2015 State Programme of Innovative Development.
During this period, Goscomvoyenprom acted as a state contractor in the state sci-tech programmes Radioelectronics-2, Radiocommunication and Navigation, and UASs and Technologies.
According to Sergei Gurulev, positive results have been achieved in all the programmes; innovative products have been developed and productionised; mass production, which is planned to 2019 inclusive, is carried out.
There has been a positive result in the establishment of new large integrated corporate entities and further development of existing ones – export-oriented holdings (Precision Electromechanics, Geoinformation Control Systems, and Radar Systems), as well as modernisation and technical reequipment of the Goscomvoyenprom companies.
Thus, MZKT completed the programme on technical reequipment aimed at extending the model range and increasing the production volume of special heavy trucks and purchased new high-performance equipment under the programme.
The 558th ARZ opened a new workshop for repair and manufacture of aircraft components, which is equipped with new high-efficiency equipment.
According to the chairman of Goscomvoyenprom, Belarusian defence companies today have to work in the conditions that exist, they also have to take into account risks, overcome difficulties and solve problems quickly.
In the current difficult conditions the companies accomplished the tasks and managed to achieve progress. A number of the Goscomvoyenprom companies showed positive growth in terms of socio-economic development indicators of the five-year period, including industrial output, export and investment; the companies are operating cost-effectively, and net profit is growing.
In 2015, the Goscomvoyenprom companies’ margin on sales was estimated at 18.7%, net profit amounted to 2.3 trillion Belarusian rubles. Industrial output grew by 1.5 times.
The Goscomvoyenprom companies have increased their exports almost twofold over the past five years. There was a foreign trade surplus.
Summarising the 2011-2015 results, the following companies have been recognised as the best:
·        among industrial companies – Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant, 558th Aviation Repair Plant;
·        among scientific organisations and design bureaus – Peleng;
·        among special exporters – Belspetsvneshtechnika.
Positive trends in socio-economic development indicators are planned to be preserved in the future.
Taking into account the results achieved, it is planned to reach the rate of industrial production growth not less than 115% and the rate of export growth not less than 105% in 2016. The margin on sales will amount to not less than 13%.
The groundwork in the social-economic development of the Goscomvoyenprom companies, which was laid in 2011-2015, served as a basis for planning for the next five-year period and for drawing up the Defence Sector and Goscomvoyenprom Development Programme to 2020, as well as plans of the Goskomvoyenprom companies’ development.
Taking into account that forms and methods of warfare have changed, Goscomvoyenprom has identified five projects (fire weapons; vehicles for carrying weapons systems; aircraft systems for military and civil purposes; military geoinformation systems; systems for countering precision weapons), which are implemented by defence companies.
Lines of development of military products were identified (specified) within the framework of these projects. Priority is given to robotic and unmanned systems, fire weapons, combat weapons based on new physical principles, as well as lightly-armoured vehicles on universal wheel chassis that are integrated with individual and group military systems, and so on.
As part of the implementation of the above-mentioned programmes, defence companies will continue developing up-to-date and advanced weapons systems to equip the Armed Forces, other troops, military units and paramilitary organisations of the Republic of Belarus, as well as for export.
Goscomvoyenprom’s key task in 2016 was identified during the meeting: it is the implementation of policy documents for organising the activities of Goscomvoyenprom and defence companies to 2020, creating the conditions for improving the competitiveness of the defence sector and its capacities in the production of advanced and promising weapons systems and promotion of them in foreign and domestic markets.
Improvement of the defence sector management system, upgrade of production facilities and set-up of new generation weapons production based on new technology, as well as establishment of import substitution industries will be continued. This will allow developing and manufacturing high-quality competitive products, saving (extending) the presence in arms markets, and meeting the uniformed departments’ needs in advanced weapons systems.
Particular attention in 2016 will be given to unconditional implementation of plans on productionising of previously produced sci-tech products, preparation and implementation of the sectoral investment programme, action plan on reducing the production costs and material and energy intensity of production, and energy saving programme, as well as import substitution measures in terms of productionising of products that were previously imported.
There will be continuation of work on further development of up-to-date multi-level vertically integrated structures, implementation of measures on enhancement of cooperation and integration between Belarusian and Russian defence companies, establishment of new knowledge-intensive and high-tech industries, implementation of practical measures on selective technical reequipment of companies, optimisation of production facilities, continuous improvement of scientific support of production and training of highly qualified personnel.
One of the key tasks is stepping-up of efforts and ensuring the efficiency of the Goscomvoyenprom companies’ operations in arms markets, including with traditional partners, as well as the creation of conditions for entering new markets to increase the export potential.