On the eve of his 70th birthday, the CEO of the corporation spoke about the main milestones in the post of head and about what KTRV will be in the near futureOn January 26, Boris Viktorovich Obnosov, General Director of the Tactical Missile Armament Corporation (KTRV), celebrates his 70th birthday.
For more than 20 years, he has been the permanent head of one of the world's largest manufacturers of weapons for aircraft and marine carriers. Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, organizer of the creation and production of the world-famous Russian precision weapons. Hero of the Russian Federation, Knight of the Order of Friendship, Orders of Merit for the Fatherland, III and IV degrees. Member of the NTS of the Military-Industrial Commission under the Government of the Russian Federation, member of the Bureau of the Board of the All-Russian Industrial Association of Employers "Union of Machine Builders of Russia".
On the eve of his 70th birthday, Obnosov told in an interview with TASS about the main milestones as head of the corporation, professional achievements and his own hobbies, as well as what KTRV will be in the near future.
— Boris Viktorovich, the anniversary is an occasion to look back and sum up some results. What are the main milestones you would like to highlight as the head of the corporation?— First of all, thank you for the invitation.
Secondly, maybe the anniversary, of course, is an occasion, although not the best. Because it is only Vakhtang Kikabidze who sings "My years are my wealth" in the song. I partly share this slogan, but I would like to celebrate other anniversaries.
Over 20 years of work, you can highlight a lot. Here every day is like a milestone. Naturally, I remember the initial period when I joined the corporation in January 2003. In the first week, the company was also called Zvezda-Strela, and already in February it was registered as JSC Tactical Missile Armament Corporation
By the way, at that time it was the first military-industrial holding, Almaz-Antey was organized a little later. Therefore, I can call myself an old-timer. Even with Jan Valentinovich Novikov, who is the head of Almaz-Antey and my good friend, we sometimes discussed who is older.
Of course, it was a certain milestone in my personal life, because going to such a responsible job is a very difficult step. I was tormented by doubts whether I could cope, how much my professional knowledge corresponds to this position. Therefore, from the very first day I treated this work as a great responsibility and tried to justify the trust of those people who appointed me, that is, the country's leadership.
There were several presidential decrees on the expansion of the corporation. Each such decree became a certain milestone. I remember how the Raduga design bureau joined us — a well-known enterprise that manufactures products that are now on the radar. For example, the X-101 rocket, probably everyone knows it.
The next big stage was the joining of the subholding — NPO Mashinostroenie. Such products as "Avangard", "Zircon" are now known far beyond the borders of our country. Also joining the Granit-Electron concern and the Marine Underwater Weapon — Hydropribor concern as subholdings, which has significantly expanded our niche in terms of finished products.
Now, in addition to aviation weapons of destruction, which are located throughout our tactical and strategic aviation, we also cover coastal complexes, which are also known as "Ball" /"Bastion", underwater weapons, partly space. Therefore, each of these events was a milestone for me.
— Which of your professional achievements do you personally consider the most important?— The fact that I have been running a corporation for 20 years is already my personal professional achievement.
If we talk about the product range, then for me all our products are equal. Regardless of their size, power. Any product requires a lot of attention and effort in order to develop it first, and then put it into service.
The first such product is the X—35E anti-ship missile. When I arrived, she was already in a semi-finished state, but we could not conduct state tests in any way, because then they were tied to Feodosia, which belonged to Ukraine. We were not given a target environment and, in general, did not contribute in any way to the completion of this work. We had to move the target situation to Novorossiysk in a short time, where we managed to complete everything in the summer of 2003. Of course, I remember this product for the rest of my life.
And then quite a lot of products followed. Many people have seen our product range at the Army and MAX exhibitions. Over these 20 years, we have created more than twenty different weapon systems, and you can tell a lot about each product.
— Which project was the most important and difficult for you throughout your career? What has become a real professional and human challenge for you?— This is a backfill question.
For example, an anti—radar missile, which is also known today, is the X-31PD. It flies at a very high speed, more than 3 Mach, more than 1 thousand. meters per second to defeat enemy air defenses. It had to be modeled and technologically go to a completely different level, prepare production and refine this product so that it effectively solves its task. And the product is one that can win dueling battles with the Patriot system (the US anti—aircraft missile system - approx. TASS). This is also one of the pride of our team and my personal pride.
Of course, such products as "Zircon" are unforgettable. When we conducted tests and watched the launch from the Admiral Gorshkov ship, we were proud of those engineers and designers who were able to do it.
Of course, I can't attend all the tests, but I attend the priority ones. When we once launched the famous torpedo rocket "Squall" on Lake Issyk-Kul, which goes underwater at a speed of 100 meters per second, it was unforgettable, because it clearly demonstrated the greatness of this product.
— Tell us how your work has changed specifically, the working schedule since February 2022, when the special operation on Ukraine?— My work schedule has changed little.
I think that the director should be at the workplace from the hour when the team starts working. That's why I usually come to work from 7:30 to 7:45. But, of course, depending on the load and leaving work is abnormal.
The special operation made certain adjustments to the work of all the teams of our enterprises, because in a standard eight-hour working day we would not have been able to complete the tasks that were set for us. Orders increased significantly, they had to be fulfilled. Therefore, we organized not single-shift, but multi-shift work.
The main thing is the correct formulation of the task and control of its implementation. Because we often hear about the task, but how to exercise control and adjust it — this is not only my role, but the role of the team that surrounds me, and my first friends in the corporation, including my deputies.
Only thanks to well-coordinated work, we managed to fulfill the plan of last year. We fulfilled it, which allowed the team to receive an award. After all, if the state defense order is not fulfilled, you can forget about the bonus. Therefore, I am happy for the people who work with me.
— Boris Viktorovich, are you interested in living and working as a specialist right now, when technology is sometimes ahead of the future?— Believe me, if I wasn't interested, it would be very difficult to force myself to go to work in such a time frame.
As they say, you wouldn't want that for any money. So, of course, it's interesting when you see something new.
We introduced new types of welding, new types of casting, additive technologies. Mastering these production processes is extremely interesting to me as an engineer. In addition, these are new methods of design, mathematical modeling. It is fascinating when you see how what was previously done "on the knee" is now being modeled in a laboratory and design complex.
I admire the younger generation, well, as young, they are already over 30 today, but I have seen their formation and I see how passionate they are about this work. It is impossible to become a good designer if you work clearly within the time frame. The guys formed a very good team both in the design school and in the production. At the parent company, all shop managers are quite young, from 30 to 40 years old, they give themselves completely to work, and I am proud of them.
— How do you see the corporation in 10-15 years?— As they say, we'll wait and see.
I want to live up to this time (laughs). I think that the corporation will undoubtedly continue to develop quite dynamically. The tasks that are set before us do not allow standing still. We cannot be satisfied with today's level. Whoever stops developing inevitably ends up at the end.
We have a fairly large experimental base, large tasks for new products, and all of them require non-standard, integrated approaches in all areas. The country's leadership has set us the task of simultaneously increasing civil production. In particular, by 2025, the share of civilian products should already be 30%, although, perhaps, a special military operation will slightly correct this figure. Nevertheless, we are working very hard in this direction.
Just last week, our Ryazan enterprise Globus won a competition to create chargers for recharging electric vehicles. This is a good achievement and a good contract. I think he's the future. Now it remains for us to have electric cars in large numbers, and we will provide chargers (laughs).
— Speaking of futuristic projects. After all, the corporation focuses more on modern projects, or, so to speak, are you looking into the future, looking into this future, predicting some products?— You probably know that we are also engaged in hypersound ... Without looking into the future, without predicting the characteristics of weapons that will be required in the future, it would be impossible to create it.
We regularly hold scientific and technical councils with the invitation of various organizations - not only the enterprises of the corporation, but also The Russian Academy of Sciences, where we consider both our movement and the achievements of competitors in key areas. And based on this, we make up for ourselves, so to speak, tasks for the near, medium and distant future.
Collections of scientific papers are regularly published, patents are protected, and publications appear… But to be engaged in absolutely futuristic projects, no! We are closer "to the ground" after all. There are quite a lot of tasks, and we see prospects.
— And when you came to the corporation, did you talk about hypersonic then?— I've been doing hypersound for a long time.
Even somewhere in the 1980s there was my note about this, because at that time the United States was also engaged in…
— It is known.— ...yes, they have had such a NASP program since 1986 — the National Aerospace System Plan, which combined developments in 64 areas.
It was clear that if we did not get involved in this work immediately and comprehensively, then we would remain on the sidelines. And thank God that in this century the idea has found full support from the country's leadership, and we are working quite intensively in this direction.
— Continuing the topic, so to speak, of the future. Do you have any, for example, works of art, movies, from which you draw sources for inspiration to create products?— There are films of the past decade, and there were many such films.
But there is a clear lack of strong artistic works in the cinema that would support the work of a design engineer.
I draw more from books. Of course, I have read and reread all the memories of our famous designers, starting from Tupolev to Yakovlev. In my free time, I reread our classics more and more often, for example, "War and Peace" and "Quiet Don", which at school we were forced to learn from under a stick. And today, frankly, I read it with a completely different mood.
By the way, the last movie "Quiet Don" by Ursulyak, which was staged in 2015, just amazed me. I used to think that the top was Gerasimov's film. We can say that these two films, although about the same thing, are presented in completely different ways.
And so, for the development of, say, non-standard thinking, I really like to read science fiction and fantasy. Lukyanenko and I have a complete collection of works. I keep track of his new editions, read and reread for my pleasure.
— Are there any projects of the corporation that were abandoned for some reason, and now the need has appeared?— I can't remember such projects.
If we have started a project, we are trying to prove that it is necessary. And by and large, to my happiness, I can't remember such works that would have started, and then a few years later would have been completely forgotten or stopped.
— Interesting.— Maybe I have such a memory, I'm sorry.
— Or were all the projects really implemented on time?— Yes, in fact, over these years, as I have already said, more than 20 samples of new weapons have been created.
God grant, as they say, that this will continue in the future.
— How is KTRV related to the space theme? How does he plan to develop in this regard? Because it is clear that you have an NGO of mechanical engineering, which has had enormous experience in creating spacecraft since Soviet times. — This is a rather sensitive topic.
We have not forgotten it, it continues to develop, but for the open press I will not stop there. There are Condor-E remote sensing satellites, they have an export version. This direction continues to develop.
— What are your rules of life?— Rules of life?
This is such a philosophical question, and to single out one thing… Firstly, if you want to demand something from someone, then first of all you yourself must ... as they say, comply. Not to be an ideal, but nevertheless, so that your words do not diverge from the deed. Therefore, the rule of life is: if you are really aiming at something, show that you are going in this direction yourself. I believe that if we work purposefully on the designated problem, then it can definitely be solved. Absolutely! And this is my deep confidence, those around me share this opinion. I always remember the phrase that walking will master the road.
— And hobbies? What are your hobbies?— Oh, come on.
— Tell me.— Work, work…
- Yes?— ...and work again.
But in fact, when time is given, and today it turns out less and less often, I try to pull out the team and play mini-football. We play somewhere from seven to half past nine, four halves to ten goals is mandatory. There is both emotional discharge and physical discharge. Of course, I love tennis, swimming. Naturally, billiards. I think that billiards is, so to speak, table chess, because they develop everything: both the eye and thinking…
And books, of course, and movies… I have a large cinema library, and when I have free time on Sunday, I definitely look through new items.
— "There is free time on Sunday" — so you are still at work on Saturday?— Saturday is a must, it's the best working day, when there are practically no meetings, when you can, so to speak, think about the tasks that are next week, because on Monday there is RAM and you need to prepare for it in order to talk about those tasks that are seen for a short time.
— You said that you were at the tests of the Zircon missiles. And how many times a month do you have to go on business trips, on tests?— Everything happens in different ways, you know.
— In different ways - and it probably depends on the time of year?— From the time of the year — this is a small, so to speak, dependence…
It depends on the readiness of the product. Therefore, we do not have such a thing that tests go on non-stop. Full-scale especially. In order for the full-scale tests to begin, it is necessary to do a lot of preliminary work, including on the stands. And full—scale tests are already the quintessence. Correctional tests are the same, special flight tests and state tests… As a rule, this is the final part of all okaer works. It is not the longest in time.
To make a product, to prepare mass production, to make products in the right quantities and with the right quality — it takes much more time.
— And there are figures on how many tests the corporation is currently testing... products. Let's say aviation.— I won't tell you.
What's the difference? A lot!
— A lot?— Well, of course, a lot.
All those products that the customer asks us today, we hand over. This is not one, not two or three, and I will not name the exact numbers. I want to give you another interview (laughs).
— Do you have a personal motto?— I've already said one:
"The walking one will master the road." For the anniversary of the corporation, for the anniversary of the parent company, we made a small clip with the permission of the author of this song — "Got up and went". It reflects everything. Is there a problem? Take it and do it. In another way, in two words, "got up and went."
— What do you dream about?— I'm dreaming…
Dreams are different, you know? Sometimes I dream of sleeping... on Sundays, yes. Sometimes I dream of going to warmer climes and swimming there in the Black Sea.
But the biggest dreams are that the work that is being done here will be successful. Sometimes I just get hung up — I wake up in the middle of the night and think how the test would go tomorrow. Everything seems to have already been done, and everything seems to have been provided for, but it bang — it doesn't work out at the last moment. And you think, well, what is it!
There is a very beautiful church near the main enterprise in Korolev, there is a young priest and such a choir… I've never come in before, and lately, especially on Saturday, when I walk to work, I've been stopping by for five, ten minutes to listen to singing.
— Thank you, first of all, for this conversation and thank you for taking the time to come to us. Allow me, on my own behalf, on behalf of the entire military editorial board and on behalf of TASS, to congratulate you on your anniversary. First of all, health and a peaceful sky.— Thank you very much, I am sure that TASS is the most objective mass media, so I wish you creative success so that there are more viewers and readers who understand your topic.