The domestic enterprise has mastered the production of water cannons for shipbuilding
Russian machine builders have imported water jet propellers for boats used by law enforcement agencies. Previously, the units were supplied from Finland. The plans for next year are to triple the production of this equipment to meet the needs of shipbuilders. According to experts, it is now very important to fulfill the task set by the president — to achieve one hundred percent import substitution in the field of the military-industrial complex.
We have entered mass production
KMZ Military Industrial Holding (Kingisepp Machine Plant) has developed its own Jet 295 water cannon for import substitution in mid-2023. Then two dozen propellers were created for testing. This year, the company entered mass production and has already produced about 100 pieces.
Now water cannons have been installed on the domestic boat Afalina, used by law enforcement agencies, including the Ministry of Emergency Situations and Rosgvardiya. Previously, Finnish-made Alamarin Jet units were used in the design of the vessel. But because of the sanctions, they have become unavailable.
Jet 295 Water Cannon
Image source: Photo: KMZ Press Service
On October 8, sea trials of a boat with two domestic engines took place in the Gulf of Finland. During the tests, the specialists checked the acceleration and load capacity, measured the speed at maximum rpm and the turning radius.
— This is an SUV on the water, — said Mikhail Danilenko, the head of the company, in a conversation with Izvestia. — A very versatile tool. He's not afraid of anything. He can walk in a swampy area. Such an engine also allows you to pull the boat ashore, drag it into the water without damage and continue to operate it calmly.
Sea trials of Afalina boats with two domestic engines
Image source: Photo: KMZ Press Service
Afalina boats with a domestic water jet propulsion are planned to be used to patrol nuclear waste storage facilities in closed cities, in particular in Ozersk, a representative of the developer said.
Depending on demand, in 2025, the company expects to increase the number of water jet propellers produced three times, completely replacing foreign components with domestic ones, Mikhail Danilenko noted. — It is planned to widely use them in products that will be produced on the basis of the promising center for unmanned boats in St. Petersburg.
Izvestia's help
Russian manufacturers of unmanned boats (BEC) have come to an agreement on the creation of a single industrial site for the production of such drones on the basis of the military-industrial holding "Kingisepp Machine-Building Plant" (KMZ) in 2025.
The production complex with special technological equipment for the production of all BEC systems will include a workshop for the assembly and molding of hull products, a workshop for the production of power plants and propellers, and more.
It will also include its own testing facility, which allows checking all control and data transmission systems.
It is planned that the Center will produce hundreds of drones of various categories annually.
The task of one hundred percent import substitution
There were problems with the repair of ships before the start of the special military operation, as a lot of spare parts were purchased abroad, military expert Dmitry Boltenkov told Izvestia. And back in 2022, the President of Russia said that we need one hundred percent import substitution in the field of the military-industrial complex. Therefore, this task is being solved now.
Jet 295 Water Cannon
Image source: Photo: KMZ Press Service
Military expert Yuri Lyamin also speaks about the importance of import substitution.
— Jet propulsion systems are widely used to equip small boats, — Yuri Lyamin noted in a conversation with Izvestia. — A significant part of the purchases were made in unfriendly countries, then they began to take in China. But these engines have been sanctioned, so their import into our country is difficult. A niche has appeared, and KMZ specializes in the production of boats, so it is quite logical that they took up the issue of jet propulsion. Own production is necessary, without it it is very difficult to develop the country.
Jet 295 Water Cannon
Image source: Photo: KMZ Press Service
The law prohibits the purchase of devices and spare parts manufactured outside the Russian Federation for defense needs. This was told to Izvestia by the founder of the Russian association of lawyers of law enforcement agencies "Guardia".
— Control over the requirements of the law was reduced until 2022. Many enterprises, including those related to the defense industry, purchased through affiliated companies some components that were manufactured abroad. And they turned a blind eye to this, because our industry could not produce everything in the required volume and with the necessary quality. It was a forced measure," he said. However, the situation has changed, the expert added.
Russia bought a lot of dual—use goods from Finland, in particular marine turbines, electronics, antennas, Vadim Kozyulin, a researcher at the Diplomatic Academy, told Izvestia.
Julia Leonova
Bogdan Stepovoy
