Defense industry in the post-Soviet space. Part III
Tajikistan
Historically, Tajikistan was an agrarian country. During Soviet times, industry emerged and began to develop, but the agricultural sector remained one of the pillars of the economy of this Central Asian republic. During the years of existence of the Tajik SSR, energy, heavy and light industry, mining and processing enterprises appeared and began to develop. At the same time, agriculture, mining and processing of minerals, as well as the chemical industry had the highest priority. In connection with such a development policy in Tajikistan, specialized defense enterprises were not built.
However, in the Tajik SSR there were some enterprises that supplied military products. At the beginning of 1968, a new chemical plant was established in Istiklol, which appeared as a branch of the Alexinsky Chemical Plant. At the end of the same year, the company received the name "Dawn of the East" and soon became a branch of the Biysk Chemical Plant. The Zarya Vostoka plant processed various raw materials and produced solid rocket fuel and other products. In addition, part of the production capacity of the enterprise was engaged in the processing of uranium raw materials for nuclear energy and nuclear weapons.
The sharp decline in production, which occurred after the formation of the independent Republic of Tajikistan, hit hard many enterprises, including the Zarya Vostoka plant. The plant had to change the composition of its products, focusing on industrial and civil products: from various metal structures to rubber galoshes. At the same time, the plant retained the capabilities for the production of pyroxylin, nitrocellulose and other materials suitable for military use.
In 2005, Moscow and Dushanbe signed an agreement according to which the Zarya Vostoka plant was to deal with the disposal of solid rocket fuel. Recycling started in 2010 and should be completed in 2015. For five years, the plant was supposed to recycle about 200 tons of fuel and waste products stored from Soviet times.
In September 2012, the CSTO member countries agreed to conduct a joint program for the modernization of the defense industry. On the territory of the states belonging to the organization, new military productions were to appear. In addition, the possibility of restoring and modernizing existing enterprises was not excluded. In March, 2013, the Tajik media reported that Russian specialists visited the Zarya Vostoka plant and discussed the production and supply of various products, including military ones.
It should be noted that “Zarya Vostoka” is the only Tajik enterprise that is included in the lists of military factories of the CSTO countries. Thus, in the foreseeable future, this chemical plant may resume production of military products, discontinued about 20 years ago. At the same time, the enterprise will work in the interests of not only Tajikistan, but also other states.
Туркменистан
The former Turkmen SSR is one of the few states in the post-Soviet space that has not a single defense enterprise left after the collapse of the USSR. The basis of the Turkmen economy has been and remains the fuel and energy complex. Turkmenistan has large oil and gas fields that allow it to provide all its needs. Turkmenistan also has a developed agriculture and light industry, mainly textile. There are a number of chemical industry enterprises.
Due to the lack of its own defense industry, official Ashgabat is forced to use old weapons and military equipment left over from the Soviet Union, and also seek help from other states. So, in recent years, Russia has supplied Turkmenistan with a certain amount of tanks T-90S, multiple launch rocket systems "Smerch" and missile boats of project 12418 "Lightning". Various equipment and automotive equipment were purchased from Turkey.
In addition, in 2010, Turkmenistan and Turkey signed a contract for the construction of two NTPB patrol boats with an option for six units. In accordance with this contract, the Turkish company Dearsan Shipyard builds hull sections and modules from which Turkmen shipbuilders assemble ready-made boats. The final assembly of boats is conducted at the shipyard in the city of Turkmenbashi (formerly Krasnovodsk). In 2012, the second agreement appeared, in accordance with which Turkish and Turkmen specialists should build and transfer to the Turkmen Navy eight more boats of the NTPB type.
The fact of the final assembly of Turkish boats at the Turkmen plant can say that official Ashgabat intends not only to purchase ready military equipment abroad, but also to build it, including with the help of specialists from third countries. Nevertheless, even in this case, there will be only one factory in Turkmenistan capable of building military equipment. Naturally, this is not enough for the emergence of its own defense industry complex. As a result, in the foreseeable future, the armed forces of Turkmenistan will continue to depend on foreign enterprises.
Uzbekistan
The Uzbek SSR, like some other Central Asian republics of the Soviet Union, did not receive a developed defense industry. In Uzbekistan, several enterprises were built, the task of which was to manufacture various components, as well as one factory that built airplanes. All these enterprises were firmly connected with other Soviet factories, received their products and sent them their own.
The problems of the nineties seriously hit most defense enterprises in Uzbekistan. Some of them were forced to reprofile, while others, at the cost of serious losses, managed to maintain the existing production facilities. Good examples of events in the Uzbek defense sector include the Mikond plant (Tashkent) and Tashkent aviation Production Association V.P. Chkalova (TAPOiCH).
The Micond plant, founded in 1948, was engaged in the production of radio components for the needs of several industries. The products of the plant were sent to a large number of enterprises throughout the Soviet Union, where they were used in the manufacture of various systems. In 1971, Mikond was the first in Central Asia to master the production of crystal, and in 1990, he began to produce household lighting fixtures, thanks to which he was able to survive the economic disasters of the nineties. After the collapse of the USSR, orders for electronic components dropped sharply. Crystal and lamps quickly became the main products manufactured by the company. Currently, the Mikond plant is called Onyx and exports crystal to several neighboring countries. Electronics production stopped completely in the nineties.
During the first years of independence of Uzbekistan, TAPOICH experienced certain problems, but the work of the enterprise continued. The plant was transformed into a joint-stock company, but remained in state ownership: only 10% of shares were transferred to employees. From the beginning of the seventies, military transport airplanes Il-76 of various modifications were built at TAPOiCh. After the collapse of the USSR, Ilyushin and TAPOiCh were able to begin the serial construction of a new version of the aircraft, the IL-76MD. In the early nineties, Tashkent aircraft manufacturers built and tested the Il-114 passenger aircraft.
However, by the beginning of the two thousand years, the pace of aircraft construction had seriously decreased, which is why the factory had to master the manufacture of civilian products. To remedy the situation in the mid-2000s, the Russian United Aircraft Corporation suggested that the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan should include TAPOiCh. In 2007, the official Tashkent agreed to this proposal, wishing to retain control over the enterprise. However, ambiguous political and economic processes began later, as a result of which the Russian KLA abandoned its plans, and in 2010, the bankruptcy procedure of TAPOiC began. Since 2012, the dismantling of various objects of the former aviation plant has been carried out.
Having lost the only enterprise that manufactured finished products for military purposes, Uzbekistan only increased its dependence on foreign arms and military equipment. At present, the armed forces of Uzbekistan have only Soviet-made equipment and weapons. There are no prerequisites for changing this situation, including the appearance of self-developed weapons.
Ukraine
On the territory of the Ukrainian SSR, there were about 700 enterprises engaged exclusively in the production of military products. A few thousand plants and organizations more or less participated in the work of the defense industry. In terms of the number of enterprises received, the Ukrainian defense industry was second only to the Russian. It was believed that the defense complex of an independent Ukraine has great prospects and is able to provide with weapons and equipment both its army and the armed forces of third countries. However, such forecasts were not fully justified.
A large number of Ukrainian enterprises produced components for products collected in the territory of the Ukrainian SSR and other union republics. In addition, a considerable number of factories collected ready-made weapons and equipment. The rupture of industrial relations with organizations that at one moment became foreign led to the corresponding consequences. Before the beginning of the two thousandth years, most of the defense enterprises of Ukraine did not survive: the number of existing institutions, factories and design bureaus decreased several times. The rest continued to work and collaborated with foreign colleagues.
To optimize the work of the military-industrial complex and coordinate the work of various enterprises, the state concern Ukroboronprom was established in 2010. The task of the concern was to guide the defense industry and interaction with the armed forces. In addition, Ukroboronprom was supposed to work with foreign customers for Ukrainian military products. In the autumn of 2013, five divisions were created in the group structure, each of which is responsible for its own defense sector.
Even after the closure of most enterprises, the Ukrainian defense industry could, under certain conditions (primarily in cooperation with the Russian defense industry), produce various military equipment and components for it: launch vehicles, military transport aircraft, tanks, ships, helicopter engines, etc. . It should be noted that a number of enterprises in independent Ukraine continued to work with foreign colleagues. For example, Motor Sich, a Zaporizhia plant that assembles aircraft engines, supplies Russia with more than 40% of its helicopter propulsion systems. In recent years, it was reported that Russian enterprises are purchasing about 10% of Ukrainian defense-industrial complex products. The latter, in turn, on 70% depends on Russian components.
The main reason for the dependence of the Ukrainian defense industry on Russian enterprises is the absence of a closed loop in the production of various systems and equipment. The management of the industry at one time did not pay due attention to import substitution, which led to the results observed now. It is necessary to recognize that even in such conditions Ukraine could become a major exporter of military equipment. Back in the nineties, Ukrainian enterprises, with the approval of the country's leadership, began to remove existing equipment from storage, repair and modernize it, and then sell it to foreign countries. The implementation of such contracts has contributed to the presence of a large number of repair plants capable of serving the equipment of the ground forces and the Air Force. The main buyers of "used" tanks, armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles and other equipment were small and not rich countries. In total, several thousand units of various vehicles were sold.
The state of the Ukrainian defense industry made it possible to start several projects aimed at updating the fleet of equipment of the armed forces. It is noteworthy that there are no own engineering projects for the air force, and the renewal of the naval forces faced a number of difficulties. So, in the middle of the two thousand years, it was planned that the Black Sea Shipbuilding Plant (Nikolaev) would build the 20 corvettes of the new project 58250 with the delivery of the lead ship in 2012 year. Subsequently, the plans were repeatedly adjusted. In accordance with the current plans, the head corvette Volodymyr the Great will be transferred to the Navy not earlier than 2015 of the year.
The Ukrainian defense industry has achieved great success in the field of armored vehicles. During the years of independence, enterprises of Ukraine, using existing experience, have created several projects of new armored vehicles. In addition, projects were developed to upgrade existing equipment. In the first half of the two thousandth Kharkov Design Bureau for Mechanical Engineering named. A.A. Morozova (KMDB) presented a project of deep modernization of the main tank T-64 called T-64BM “Bulat”. Before 2012, the ground forces received 76 tanks that had been repaired and upgraded to the T-64BM state. In the 2009, the T-84U Oplot tank, which represents a deep modernization of the T-XNUMHUD tank, was in service. To date, only 80 of such vehicles have been delivered to the troops. In 10, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine ordered 2009 of the newest BM "Oplot" tanks. In total, it is planned to purchase 10 such tanks. However, even five years after signing the contract, the troops did not receive a single vehicle of the new model.
At the beginning of the two thousandth, the construction of armored personnel carriers BTR-3, created by the KMDB on the basis of the BTR-80 project, was launched. Due to limited financial resources, the Ukrainian military first ordered these vehicles only in 2014 year. In the meantime, the serial BTR-3 is already in operation in ten foreign countries. For example, in the armed forces of Thailand there are more than a hundred such machines, and the ground forces of the United Arab Emirates exploit the 90 BTR-3. The BTR-4 armored personnel carrier developed from scratch in the KMDB has not yet become so widespread. So, before the start of 2013, Ukraine managed to transfer to Iraq about a hundred of the 420 armored vehicles ordered, after which the supplies were stopped. The Iraqi military accused the Ukrainian industry of misbehaving and poor quality products. The 42 armored personnel carriers, abandoned by Iraq, were returned to the factory and transferred to the National Guard in the spring of 2014. In May, the 2014 th Defense Ministry ordered more than a hundred and fifty armored personnel carriers BTR-4 of several modifications.
The Ukrainian military-industrial complex is also capable of supplying the army with motor vehicles (KrAZ trucks), upgraded MLRS (BM-21 on KrAZ chassis), anti-tank missile systems ("Stugna-P", "Skif", etc.), several types of small arms and various equipment At the same time, Ukraine does not have the ability to produce anti-aircraft missile systems, combat aviation, field artillery, mortars, as well as weapons and military equipment of some other classes.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, an independent Ukraine received a fairly powerful defense industrial complex, which included hundreds of enterprises. Not all of them were able to survive the difficult first years of independence, but the rest tried not only to survive, but also to master the production of new products or even win a place in the international arms market. At the same time, the Ukrainian defense industry was constantly harassed by several problems, primarily insufficient attention from the country's leadership, as well as the lack of orders from the Ministry of Defense. As a result, a number of important defense enterprises were forced to reorient themselves to cooperation with foreign countries.
Until recently, it was impossible to make unambiguous predictions regarding the future of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine. Ukrainian defense enterprises are capable of manufacturing products that may be of interest to the military of Ukraine or foreign countries. At the same time, the possibilities of industry are limited, and the quality of products, as the contract for the supply of armored personnel carriers to Iraq has shown, sometimes leaves much to be desired. In this regard, the prediction of the future development of the Ukrainian defense industry was difficult, but it can be said that the leadership of independent Ukraine and its defense industry did not fully take advantage of the opportunities that remained to him after the collapse of the USSR.
The change of power and the events that followed in the political, economic and military spheres allow us to make certain predictions about the future of the military-industrial complex. Apparently, the economic problems of Ukraine in the near future will seriously affect both the defense sector and the industry as a whole. Cessation of military-technical cooperation with Russia, threatened by the new Ukrainian leadership, may lead to even more dire consequences. What enterprises will cope with these blows, and which will have to cease to exist, time will tell.
Estonia
Having gained independence, Estonia did not acquire its own defense industry. On the territory of this state there are only a few enterprises that produce components for other industries. Official Tallinn immediately refused to build and develop its own defense industry, counting on the help of foreign partners. It must be admitted that these hopes were justified: already in the first years of independence, the Estonian armed forces began to receive foreign weapons and military equipment.
In 1992, the Estonian military began to receive financial assistance, as well as various types of equipment and weapons. For example, Germany handed over to Estonia two transport aircraft L-410, 8 boats, 200 cars and several tens of different cargoes. Subsequently, the NATO countries and other foreign countries transferred or sold to Estonia various equipment and weapons.
In the first half of the nineties, various private and state companies producing various military products began to appear in Estonia. The small size of the country's military budget and the purchase of high-quality products abroad have affected the fate of these enterprises - some of them had to close. An example of this is the Tallinn E-arsenal factory. It belonged to the state and produced ammunition for small arms. Over ten years of work, the company failed to bring production volumes to the required level and could not compete with foreign ammunition factories. As a result, in 2010, the E-arsenal factory ceased operations, and in Tallinn, in 2012, it initiated a procedure for its liquidation.
It must be recognized that Estonian enterprises can operate without losses and even receive large orders from foreign countries. In the spring of 2013, the Estonian Ministry of Defense announced the start of subsidizing armament and military equipment projects created by local companies. The most successful firms can count on support in the amount of 300 thousand euros. As an example of a successful project, the military led the development of the company ELI - the Helix-4 unmanned aerial vehicle, designed to perform reconnaissance missions. In November 2013 of the year, the Union of Defense Enterprises of Estonia named the shipyard Baltic Workboats the best company of the year. The shipyard received an honorary title thanks to the Swedish order for the construction of five Baltic 1800 Patrol patrol boats with a total value of 18 million euros.
In recent years, a number of private companies engaged in the development of various military systems have appeared in Estonia. To coordinate the work of these organizations, the Union of Defense Enterprises was established. However, we can already say that in the foreseeable future, Estonia will not be able to create a full-fledged defense-industrial complex and get rid of the existing dependence on foreign supplies. Nevertheless, one cannot fail to note the country's desire to develop its own production and enter the international market.
On the materials of the sites:
http://vpk.name/
http://vpk-news.ru/
http://inosmi.ru/
http://tajik-gateway.org/
http://rosbalt.ru/
http://periscope2.ru/
http://bmpd.livejournal.com/
http://igpi.ru/
http://uzeltexsanoat.uz/
http://inpress.ua/
http://rus.postimees.ee/
http://rus.delfi.ee/
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