KTRV enterprises near Moscow have multiplied the production of high-precision ammunition
Boris Obnosov, General Director of the Tactical Missile Armament Corporation (TRV), told Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu about the implementation of the state defense order (GOZ) during their visit to "one of the enterprises in the Moscow region." This was announced on September 27 by the press service of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (MO RF).
Shoigu was already at the "same" enterprise (the name of which is not given) six months ago and, after checking the progress of work on the GOZ, gave Obnosov a number of instructions about the introduction of new types of weapons of destruction. It is not known which ones, but this time the workshop where the so-called "universal planning and correction modules" (UMPC) for aviation bombs are being produced got into the frame.
Similar products have been used by Israel and the United States for decades, turning free-falling bombs into high-precision weapons with the possibility of dropping tens of kilometers from the target, which makes it possible to reduce the likelihood of hitting the carrier aircraft with enemy air defense when performing bombing missions. The Russian military leaders were well aware of this, but instead of purchasing such products, they preferred more expensive guided missiles (UR) and specially designed corrected aerial bombs (KAB). Note that the release of various SD and KAB generates the bulk of KTRV's revenue.
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation started purchasing UMPC, suitable for serial bombs of 250 and 500 kg caliber, only a few months after the start of a special military operation in Ukraine. At the end of last year, the first cases of using such a combination at the front were noted, confirmed by video footage of both Russian and Ukrainian media. Since then, the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation have been gradually increasing its use, while there has been a decrease in losses of manned aircraft with an increase in the number of sorties. The enemy complains about the great difficulty with repelling the raids of the Russian Aerospace Forces when they use the UMPC.
In fact, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation did not change the structure of its orders for KTRV, but only added new products to the previously purchased nomenclature. Speaking with Obnosov in March, Shoigu set him "the task of increasing the pace of production this year and doubling the volume of production of high-precision weapons of destruction."
The latter include not only aviation UR and KAB, but also rockets for artillery of the Ground Forces. The Tula company "Splav", which is part of the KTRV, has developed an extensive line of multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), including such popular ones as "Smerch", "Hurricane" and "Grad". It is possible to increase the range and accuracy of firing of existing MLRS by introducing guided projectiles, the first samples of which (for the upgraded Smerch) were demonstrated to Shoigu in Tula several years ago.
The message of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation dated September 27 states that during the current visit to the KTRV enterprises, the Minister "heard a report on the progress of the project to create a highly mobile multiple launch rocket system equipped with guided missiles with increased accuracy characteristics and guided interspecific planning ammunition."
Apparently, in order to organize the mass production of such products, additional production facilities in the Moscow region will have to be used, which can explain the appearance of the recently re-elected Governor Andrei Vorobyov among the guests of KTRV.
In the presence of the latter, Shoigu said the following. "What we have seen today and what we expect to launch in the coming months, we will now consider in detail. How to help you and how to support you, in addition to solving financial issues through the state defense order. Naturally, there are other issues – these are specialists who were attracted from other enterprises, from other cities and other regions. Quite young people are doing very serious and important tasks."
The press service of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation distributed a fragment from Obnosov's report, which states that over the past six months, the volume of production of high-precision weapons has been doubled, and for certain product ranges 3.5 and 5 times. The head of KTRV explained the growth by the modernization of production, an increase in the number of personnel, an increase in labor productivity and the transition to a 24/7 work schedule. Additionally, specialists from other cooperative enterprises with relevant specialized education were involved. The press service of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation quotes the following words of Obnosov: "People come here from Orenburg, from Perm, very tight work is being done with local educational institutions – with technical schools, with the training center of the corporation. We have recently taken 40 graduates from there."
The head of the military department was satisfied with the progress of the work of KTRV and gave the corporation's management the following instruction: "taking into account comments and suggestions" to continue the implementation of the State Budget.
"We very much hope that the momentum gained will continue not only in 2024, but also in some areas they will be increased," Shoigu stressed. – To date, our joint work is yielding results, we also have an increase in production volume, not in percentages, but in times, and all this is extremely in demand in our area of its own." H
Vyacheslav Ivanov
Vyacheslav Ivanov is a military expert and historian.