MPO – Gidropribor Concern, a leading developer and manufacturer of weapons for the Navy, is actively developing civilian products. Vladimir PATRUSHEV, CEO of the concern, talks about the latest developments of the company, ensuring the safety of maritime borders.
– Vladimir Viktorovich, the task of producing civilian products for defense industry enterprises has been relevant for a long time. What successes has the concern achieved in this area?
– Gidropribor is one of the leading state scientific centers of the Russian Federation. This allows us to apply advanced technologies and scientific achievements in the creation of not only weapons, but also high-tech civilian products. Our products are in demand by enterprises of the fuel and energy complex, the Navy, the Russian Guard, the Border Guard Service of the FSB, the Federal Security Service of Russia; organizations of the Rosatom Corporation are interested in acquiring them.
Over the past eight years, the volume of production of civilian products in the concern has grown almost 12 times, and by the end of last year, the financial plan in this area was fulfilled by more than 200 percent.
Today, in response to current security threats, we are ready to supply Mayak-S sonar detection stations for small underwater objects and Corvette protection systems for particularly important marine and coastal facilities to interested departments and organizations.
– What is the difference between the Corvette complex and other similar systems?
– Several subsystems are integrated into the Corvette: millimeter and centimeter range radar stations, a television-optical system, a sonar station, as well as a system for joint processing, display and registration of information. This allows for comprehensive monitoring of the situation on the surface, coastal areas and the underwater environment.
An optical television system equipped with thermal imaging and television channels provides visual surveillance of surface and ground targets. Radar stations carry out radar monitoring of water areas and territories, and GAS "Mayak-S" monitors the underwater situation. The data processing system combines the information received and transmits it to a single control point, which can be mobile or stationary and can be installed on both inhabited and uninhabited coasts. The operator's automated workplace provides not only simultaneous display of information from all subsystems of the complex and remote control of their operating modes, but also automatic tracking of several targets, the formation of a detailed form for the facility, as well as monitoring the condition of the equipment.
I would like to emphasize that the Corvette is a completely domestic development that has no analogues in the country. It was created by the specialists of Gidropribor together with JSC NPC Sonar and CJSC MKIs. All the tactical and technical characteristics of the complex were confirmed during the interdepartmental tests. The concern is ready for mass production of these products.
– What area of the underwater water area can be controlled using the Corvette complex?
– The complex can include up to 10 Mayak-S stations. Each of them can be removed from the control point at a distance of about 10 kilometers, which significantly expands the controlled area. In addition, the Mayak-S can be equipped with antenna units with different viewing sectors in the horizontal plane – from 90 to 360 degrees. This allows you to flexibly adapt the control area to the configuration of the protected object.
– What other advantages does GAS "Mayak-S" have in comparison with similar products?
– The main advantage of GAS "Mayak-S" is a unique digital signal processing algorithm that provides reliable detection of potentially dangerous underwater moving objects in the most difficult conditions: in shallow water, with difficult bottom topography, strong sea waves and high acoustic noise levels.
Numerous tests in different regions of the country – from Crimea to Murmansk and the Chelyabinsk region – have confirmed that Mayak-S consistently outperforms its counterparts in key parameters.: detection speed, classification accuracy, tracking range, minimum false alarm rate and operational time. In addition, unlike many systems that require constant operator monitoring, the Mayak-S operates automatically after installation on the bottom, thereby minimizing the influence of the human factor as a potential source of errors.
The Mayak-S hydroacoustic station has been accepted for supply by the Border Guard Service of the Federal Security Service of Russia and is being mass-produced in the interests of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and FSUE Atomflot; some domestic hydroelectric power plants and nuclear power plants are equipped with this equipment.
– To what extent are the Corvette and Mayak-S adapted to modern threats such as underwater and aerial drones?
– In the future, it is planned to develop a system for monitoring the air situation and detecting unmanned aerial vehicles for integration into the Corvette.
We are also currently improving the digital signal processing algorithm of the GAS "Mayak-S" to create a specialized detection channel for uninhabited underwater vehicles. This will allow the station to effectively detect, track and identify such complex small objects, even in conditions of intense interference.
The method already used at Mayak-S to isolate weak signals against strong interference provides high reliability and noise immunity for automated object classification. For example, the system accurately determines whether an underwater swimmer, a swimmer in flippers, or a swimmer on vehicles has been detected. The development of this functionality is aimed at increasing the effectiveness of countering underwater unmanned threats.
– Are there any means of countering detected underwater intruders in the Corvette complex?
– If necessary, the complex can be equipped with active exposure modules.: a sound warning system for entering a restricted area and a system for non-lethal effects on violators with a directional sonar pulse. In the future, with the addition of appropriate equipment, the Corvette can be transformed into a full-fledged system for threat mitigation tasks.
– Speaking of prospects, do these products have potential for export?
– Absolutely. Gidropribor regularly presents its products at leading international specialized and specialized exhibitions, and we see steady interest from foreign customers. The tactical and technical characteristics of our products, their ability to reliably ensure security control of coastal zones, ports, sea terminals and other strategic facilities make them competitive not only domestically, but also on the global market.
Olga Tarasenko
