The newspaper of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Krasnaya Zvezda, with the headline "Got up and went." Tactical Missile Armament Corporation JSC is improving its high-tech products, which are in demand during a special military operation, non-stop," Boris Obnosov, General Director of Tactical Missile Armament Corporation (KTRV), published an interview.
(c) "Red Star"
How did KTRV manage to fulfill a significantly increased state defense order last year? How have the high-tech means of armed struggle produced by the corporation proved themselves during a special military operation? What are the directions for further modernization of KTRV products as a result of the analysis of the real experience of their combat use and how is this analysis carried out by the corporation's specialists in the SVO area? Boris OBNOSOV, General Director of Tactical Missile Armament Corporation, Hero of the Russian Federation, answers these and other questions to Krasnaya Zvezda.
- Boris Viktorovich, what was the past year like for the corporation, was it possible to fully fulfill the significantly increased state defense order?
- Undoubtedly, this was the main task for us, which was monitored weekly by the Military-Industrial Commission of the Russian Federation. Denis Valentinovich Manturov, First Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, personally supervised this issue. Our meetings were held with a certain frequency, and necessary decisions were quickly made during them.
I must say with full responsibility and with pride for my team that all the tasks that the country set for us in the supply of highly demanded products were completed on time and even exceeded in some areas.
The volume of product sales last year amounted to over a trillion rubles, that is, it almost doubled compared to 2023. At the same time, 2023 was also a shock year compared to 2022. The volume of military production for the needs of the Ministry of Defense has increased significantly.
- How did you manage it?
- I will name a few directions that have made it possible to do this.
The main thing is the people. If in 2023 the total number of employees was about 66 thousand, then in 2024 it reached 90 thousand people. We have increased the number both at the head site and at all the "finalists" (enterprises that produce products and transfer finished products to the customer. - Author's note), and at our "kits" (companies that manufacture components. - Author's note).
In addition, we have pursued a fairly successful corporate expansion policy, and over the past one and a half to two years, we have included a number of key companies that we need to solve production problems. In December, a decree was signed by the President of the Russian Federation, according to which the scientific and production association Iskra from Perm will join KTRV. This company also produces solid-fuel rocket engines for missile systems for various purposes, so this step is absolutely logical.
The corporation is implementing a large-scale technical re-equipment program, and the machine park has been significantly updated. Thanks to the introduction of new technological processes, it was possible to reduce the production cycle of products in demand in the Armed Forces by an average of 25-30 percent.
- And how did the corporation manage to upgrade its machine park if the supply of machine tools from Western countries stopped due to sanctions?
- Firstly, not all countries are subject to sanctions. We still have our traditional partners, and we are working fruitfully with them.
Secondly, the Russian machine tool industry is beginning to revive. And there are already illustrative examples. One of them is the STAN holding, which is, so to speak, the backbone of the machine tool industry. Two years ago it was headed by Boris Bogatyrev. He is a true professional, and it seems to me that he will be able to move from words to deeds and restart the machine tool industry in Russia.
- Do KTRV enterprises already have products from the mill?
- of course. Our cooperation with the MILL began back in 2015. However, the holding's capacity is still not large enough. I head the commission of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs on the military-industrial complex. One of the key meetings last year was devoted specifically to machine tool construction, where we considered this issue very carefully.
- Are you satisfied with the quality of the mill's products?
- Naturally, we would like to see the quality and complexity of machines grow, so that five- and seven-axis machines for various purposes are produced, so that the machine tool range expands and so that we catch up with those countries that have gone ahead. For example, China. Even 20 years ago, it was hard to imagine that the Chinese would have such a wide range of machine tools. And today, in my opinion, they are one of the leaders in the machine tool industry. As well as in other areas. The whole of Europe is afraid of the Chinese car industry! Europe has a century-old history of the automotive industry, and today they are figuring out how to keep China's electric vehicles out of their market.
- Boris Viktorovich, let's move on to a group of questions that our readers are primarily interested in answering, and let's talk about the use of high-precision KTRV products during a special military operation. How do you assess the results of this application?
- The results are evaluated primarily by the Ministry of Defense. Naturally, we are following this up.
Defense Minister Andrei Belousov constantly interacts with the heads of defense industry enterprises. Measures are being developed to improve the performance of our products and increase the effectiveness of their use.
We have a very wide range of military products, and if we talk about them in general, I would like to note that they make a serious contribution to the results that are being achieved today "behind the ribbon". We produce almost all air-to-surface, air-to-air, and anti-ship systems, which today are reoriented to work mostly on targets on the ground. Coastal complexes such as Bal and Bastion are also used to strike targets on land. We have mastered a new direction - the production of large batches of unified planning and correction modules for unguided bombs of different calibers.
In general, the process of improving percussion instruments and protection systems against them is continuous. And of course, the enemy is also not standing still. He's taking action against our weapons. Electronic warfare has recently become a priority, and we are responding with countermeasures. We understand that there is nothing permanent in this world and we cannot rest on our laurels, believing that if you have achieved something, then you will never be caught up.
We have made headway in a number of areas, but the technological gap between us and our Western competitors is small. There are about 50 countries on the enemy's side that supply him with modern weapons. We have to compensate for this advantage by applying non-standard approaches, which Russian gunsmiths have always been famous for. "Get up and go" is our motto! When it's hard, when the situation seems hopeless, we mobilize and make a breakthrough.
- Can you name any specific areas for further modernization of KTRV products as a result of analyzing the actual experience of using your products?
- The directions of modernization are, by and large, constant. Only at different times, one or the other of them comes to the fore. It is clear that all weapons must be highly accurate. The longer the range and the higher the speed, the better. But I would highlight a key point today: weapons should be cheaper, because one missile, no matter how great it is, is not enough on the current battlefield. The line of combat contact exceeds a thousand kilometers. Obviously, a cheap and effective weapon is required while maintaining all the parameters that I listed above, that is, range, speed and accuracy.
For a country that invests huge resources to achieve victory, the cost of products is one of the most important parameters. It has always been a key issue, but probably not enough attention has been paid to this issue before. Currently, the corporation has managed in some cases to reduce the cost of products by about 30 percent, and in some cases by half. With the preservation of performance characteristics, and in some cases even with their improvement!
- What R&D tasks is the corporation currently solving in this regard? And which areas of precision weapons development are the main focus of designers?
- The development of high-precision weapons implies, among other things, the improvement of guidance systems, a reduction in size, and improved selectivity in target identification. The software, "munition intelligence," is being improved, up to the creation of networked intelligent weapon systems used in a salvo.
I cannot specify our tasks within the framework of R&D - this is a closed topic. I will name one of the main well-known tasks of the corporation - the creation of hypersonic weapons. We are also working hard and continuously in this area.
- Is it already new in addition to the existing one?
- of course. I have repeatedly said, and I repeat once again, that whoever stops in this direction will inevitably be overtaken by opponents. So this process is continuous. Moreover, the work on the creation of such weapons provides an additional effect, an impetus for the development of sectors of the national economy. After all, what is hypersound? These include new materials, new fuels, and new control systems. And all this can then pay off handsomely in civilian industries, so in no case should we stop here.
Today, for obvious reasons, we are focused on manufacturing mass-produced products. However, we do not stop the Okrov and NIROV works and pay great attention to them. For example, our traditional aviation weapons are probably going through a revolutionary period, because over the past few years we have introduced a number of new weapon systems and I hope we will continue this path in the near future.
- Including on the basis of the experience gained in a special operation?
- The military experience of using it in a real situation is invaluable. Because mathematical modeling, semi-natural modeling, and firing ranges will never be identical to the combat situation in which our weapons are currently used. And of course, we will explore all the experience of using each type of our means of armed struggle.
- That is, KTRV specialists are now constantly in military units performing the tasks of a special military operation? And do they conduct such research virtually continuously?
- We have information on some topics daily, on others - once a week. We also collect weekly information on failures of our products, which undoubtedly happen. If the probability of trouble-free operation of the products is 0.97, then when using, relatively speaking, 100 pieces, three of them may fail. You can, of course, make "four nines" (to release a product with a probability of uptime of 0.9999. - author's note), but then the cost of the product will soar. Therefore, there must be a reasonable approach.
- At the very beginning of our conversation, you mentioned an increase in the number of employees of the corporation. How do you manage to attract qualified personnel? How are you interested in young people in order to avoid a generation gap at the corporation's enterprises?
- There was a generation gap. Yes, we had a very difficult time in the early 2000s, and in the early 2010s.
Now, every year, this generation gap is being leveled. Our youth got a taste for creating high-tech, technologically sophisticated products. Therefore, during the 23 years of work since the establishment of KTRV, the average age of staff at all enterprises of the corporation has decreased significantly. If at the very beginning of the XXI century it exceeded 56 years, today it is less than 40 years old at a number of enterprises, and mostly in the region of 40-44 years.
Career guidance, including those implemented jointly with the Union of Machine Builders, is bearing fruit. Young people come to us with interest. Although it's not easy to work. The one who works hard, despite the eight-to-five schedule, earns well. Many of our designers stay at work until the middle of the night without any "chasing".
I'm not even talking about those who work in three shifts and are involved in mass production. All this, of course, is taken into account when calculating salaries. The average salary across the corporation has reached 109 thousand rubles, while workers on numerically controlled machines receive significantly more.
Of course, for people who are busy doing what they love, money does not solve everything. Until a certain period, they are, of course, among the priorities, and then something else comes to the fore: is it interesting to work, what is the prospect in the future, are there any social programs? We try to take all this into account.
The corporation has developed and is implementing a Social Development Strategy. We invest over 1.2 billion rubles annually in this area. The funds are used for medical care, including sanatorium treatment, support for veterans and pensioners, sports and cultural events, children's contests, youth policy, and housing programs. Do you see two houses? (Boris Viktorovich points to two high-rise buildings that are visible from the window of his office in the main building of KTRV in the city of Korolev. - Author's note)
We commissioned one of these apartment buildings two years ago, and the other one is six years old. There are about 700 apartments in them. In the last house, the price per square meter for our employees was 61 thousand rubles, while in Korolev the commercial price of such housing exceeds 150 thousand. With the support of the Governor of the Moscow Region and the city administration, we transferred our surplus industrial sites to land for housing construction. We conducted a selection process among the employees. People got apartments, of course, not for free, but practically at cost and with the condition that they work for a certain number of years at the enterprise. In total, during the implementation of the housing program in the corporation since 2012, employees have already purchased over 3,700 apartments. This is one of the key areas for staff consolidation.
Of course, other events that were popular in the Soviet Union, such as tourist gatherings, sports competitions, and various contests, also contribute to the formation of a cohesive team and communication between employees in an informal setting, which is also very important. We maintain and develop these traditions.
- Boris Viktorovich, you have already mentioned sanctions. Tell me, how does the sanctions pressure affect the interaction of KTRV with foreign customers? What is the corporation's export portfolio now? Is it growing or decreasing?
- It's undulating, it doesn't take place year after year. Last year, our export revenue was about $370 million.
- Is it less or more than in previous years?
- The year before last it was less, because we were focused on fulfilling an internal order. At the same time, we are constantly working on the fulfillment of our export contracts, and the portfolio of orders from foreign partners currently exceeds seven billion dollars.
- It turns out that these sanctions...
- These sanctions should not be underestimated, because the whole outside world has not stood still. And he won't wait until we finish our production in order to sell our products like hot cakes later. A holy place is never empty. Western and Israeli companies, of course, are trying to occupy those niches that we are temporarily not fully filling. So, we must do everything possible to avoid losing them. Therefore, we are working very closely with both Rosoboronexport and the Federal Customs Service of Russia, where this situation is very well understood. By the way, a Board meeting of the Federal Customs Service of Russia was recently held at our base, where we reported on the results of our work and discussed tasks for the future.
- Do the remaining foreign customers have any complaints about the parameters of KTRV export products?
- I have never seen such a customer who would be 100 percent satisfied with everything. He's always looking for something, trying to get the most out of the manufacturer. That's right - he pays the money, so he wants everything to be perfect.
The best example of cooperation with foreign partners is our joint venture with India, BrahMos. When both sides are interested in the result and are not trying to win at the expense of the partner, such a business has a future.
- What is the current stage of this project?
- At the operational stage. The Board of Directors of BrahMos meets on a regular basis and reviews the results. New orders are being processed…
- Speaking of hypersonics, you noted that the development of this topic can be useful in the civilian industry. Boris Viktorovich, how are things going at KTRV in terms of production diversification? Are high-tech products manufactured for civilian consumers?
- Yes, it is being released. Here are some examples. Our company from Ryazan (RKB Globus JSC) has won the competition and supplies fast charging stations for electric buses and electric vehicles.
We have a joint venture in Kurgan where electric loaders are being developed. They are currently undergoing a test check in St. Petersburg and Moscow. I think they have a great future.
There is progress in the medical field. JSC UNIIKM, which is part of the corporation, has received certificates and is due to start manufacturing endoprostheses made of carbon-carbon composite material this year. They were shown at exhibitions, including the International Military-Technical Forum "Army".
Avangard JSC in the Smolensk region produces 50-meter pipes made of composite materials for boiler houses, supplies them to the domestic market and exports. In short, there are many directions, and we will certainly continue to work.
- In addition to supplying weapons, does KTRV provide any other assistance to units operating in the special military operation zone, military personnel and their family members, as well as residents of the liberated and border territories, near which fighting is currently taking place?
- We carry out targeted measures to collect humanitarian aid on a regular basis. The corporation's enterprise teams help our soldiers in the SVO zone, as well as the local population, including in the Kursk region. Our escorted staff delivers clothes, shoes, food, medicines, as well as some equipment needed in combat conditions, "by the ribbon". By regularly receiving information about what is particularly in demand right now, we try to fulfill requests.
Alexander Tikhonov
Boris Obnosov, General Director of Tactical Missile Armament Corporation, Hero of the Russian Federation (c) Krasnaya Zvezda
