President Vladimir Putin promises over the next few years to send up to 5 trillion to re-equip the domestic Air Force with new equipment. budget rubles. This was announced at a meeting on the prospects for the development of combat aviation Russia, which the head of state spent yesterday in Novosibirsk. As a result, by 2020, the level of providing units and formations with modern airplanes and helicopters will increase from the current 20% to 70%. However, generous funding does not solve all the problems of the aviation industry, and some points of the state program may remain unfulfilled. The final figure - 5 trillion. rub. - Vladimir Putin was released by simple arithmetic calculations. “In total, we plan to send approximately 25% of the total volume of state defense order to re-equip aviation units and divisions. We have it, as you know, 20 trillions, which means that a quarter of 20 trillions is 5 trillions, ”the president said. Moreover, modern aviation technology is already being delivered to the troops. And we are talking about serial deliveries. According to Putin, the Ministry of Defense plans to buy almost 2 thousand airplanes and helicopters. Due to this, by 2020, the share of modern aircraft in the army should be 70%. Now this figure is limited to just 20%.
The President acknowledged that for this aviation industry enterprises must go through a complete technical re-equipment, strengthen production and personnel capabilities. “It is clear that at the same time increasing production and rebuilding production is not an easy task. This is a complicated matter, but it’s quite feasible, ”Putin remarked philosophically. And he promised to keep under constant control all aspects of the implementation of the plan for the rearmament of the army and fleet, and called on the leadership of the Ministry of Defense and the aviation industry to look at the prospect of "at least a few steps forward."
As an example to others, Putin put the Novosibirsk aircraft plant, which he visited immediately before the meeting. The successes of this enterprise in organizing the production of the Su-34 multifunctional front-line bomber are obvious. “So, it means that you can do it in other places. I am waiting for such a responsible approach from all industry leaders, company directors. The state will provide you with all the necessary help and support, ”Putin said solemnly. In turn, the Ministry of Defense should also be active, keep control over the execution of contracts and the entire process of supplying aircraft to the troops. There was also a presidential order to the command of the Air Force - to prepare units and formations for receiving and the early development of new combat aircraft and helicopters.
The state program, which was discussed yesterday in Novosibirsk, aims to carry out a large-scale technical re-equipment of Russian military aviation over several years. A massive supply of modern aviation complexes to the troops is planned. The Ministry of Defense signed contracts with the United Aircraft Building Corporation (UAC) for the purchase of Su-34, Su-35, MiG-29К / KUB, Il-476, Su-30М and Yak-130 aircraft, Mi-28Н and Ka-52 helicopters, Mi-X 8, some other samples. In particular, X-NUMX of Su-92 front-line bomber, whose production Putin was familiar with yesterday, and 34 multi-purpose Su-48 fighters are to be supplied. The Navy will receive 35 carrier-based fighters MiG-24K / KUB, and military transport aircraft - almost 29 IL-100 and 476 An-17. In addition, almost 70 thousand new helicopters will go to the troops.
Former USSR Defense Minister, Air Marshal Yevgeny Shaposhnikov positively assessed the prospects for the state armament procurement program. "It will not be worse. It will be good, ”he told NG correspondent yesterday. Former military pilot, the word "good" probably means quality characteristics. Since the quantitative indicators of the Air Force (Air Force) of Russia outright lose the Soviet Air Force. Suffice it to say that one 16-I Air Army, which was part of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, commanded by Shaposhnikov at one time, numbered about 1,5 thousand airplanes and helicopters. From this we can conclude about the scale of production of aircraft in Soviet times.
Andrei Frolov, editor-in-chief of the Export and Arms magazine, confirmed NG: today's production volumes of airplanes and helicopters are quite modest. Only one Mi-8 helicopters, for example, the Soviet aviation industry produced 400 units a year before, and now all types of helicopters are assembled by Russian manufacturers no more than 300 units, the expert noted. Of course, here we must remember that the army has become several times smaller, and its requirements for aircraft have also decreased. However, this does not relieve stress from the domestic aviation industry. The industry has a number of “bottlenecks” that call into question the successful implementation of all points of the state program, Frolov said. Among the main ones is a shortage of qualified personnel, which is a common misfortune for enterprises of the Russian military industrial complex, and technological backwardness of production. Another insurmountable problem is that until now many aircraft components are not produced in Russia. This is a legacy of the Soviet era. For example, almost all engines for helicopters are still purchased from Ukrainian enterprises. From all this, Frolov concludes that the re-equipment of the Russian Air Force to the 2020 year, most likely will not be fully implemented. The audit of some points of the document, with the correction of the terms of their implementation, has actually already begun.