On 12 November 2018, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko met with Chairman of the State Military Industrial Committee (Goscomvoyenprom) Roman Golovchenko.
Special attention was paid to the economic results of the nation’s military industrial complex.
The President noted that the industry was doing fairly well on the whole, especially in terms of profitability, income, and average salaries.
“But this is not enough. These financial figures represent only half of what needs to be achieved as of the end of the next year. Therefore, you should plan to double the results in the future – not so much the output, but the cash earnings,” said the head of state.
The President was informed about the execution of his previous orders. In particular, Golovchenko spoke about what had been done to stabilise and ensure comprehensive development of Tekhnika Svyazi JSC and Orsha Aircraft Repair Plant JSC, two Goscomvoyenprom-supervised companies in Orsha district.
Goscomvoyenprom has set up a rapid response centre, which is constantly monitoring the operations of these enterprises and renders the necessary assistance.
A lot has been done to straighten up the manufacturing process at these companies.
A number of programmes have been elaborated and launched to ensure their sustainable development in the mid-term perspective. The focus will be on manufacturing competitive products and efficient use of the companies’ production capacities.
Specifically, Tekhnika Svyazi has adjusted its development programme until 2020. The company will preserve its specialisation and continue to develop as a radio systems manufacturer.
The programme’s key aim is to raise the efficiency of the production process by introducing advanced technologies and launching new products.
Similarly, Orsha Aircraft Repair Plant adopted a development programme for 2018–2023. Under it, the enterprise will undergo a reconstruction, install new equipment in the existing workshops and build new ones.
Having analysed the market, the company has drawn up a manufacturing plan, which envisages more workload for its production capacities. The 2019 order portfolio has been formed.
Goscomvoyenprom’s key goal is to bring these companies to the level of break-even operation and prevent them from making losses in the future.
Roman Golovchenko also reported about the development prospects.
At the moment, Goscomvoyenprom is focused on carrying out the Defence Sector and Goscomvoyenprom Development Programme until 2020 (new edition), seeking to fulfil its commitments in full and with high quality. In 2019, it will start drafting a similar programme until 2025.
New areas of arms development are being shaped in missile engineering, unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), robotics and cyber security. Hence, the
industry is defining the required competences and sci-tech potential in these fields.
One of the priorities is to develop a family of strike UASs of different types.
Together with private and state companies, Goscomvoyenprom organisations have made certain steps towards the development of strike UASs in Belarus. Specifically, they have designed control, communication and navigation systems, as well as payloads. Some examples of strike UASs were demonstrated to the President on 5 October 2018, during a show of promising weapons and special equipment, developed and manufactured by Belarusian defence companies.
The industry will continue to upgrade the existing combat robots (the Berserk and Bogomol) and the ADUNOK automated remotely-guided surveillance/firing system.
Since 2017, Goscomvoyenprom organisations have been working to set up domestic production of small arms and their ammunition for civilians and uniformed services.
A priority line, as seen by Goscomvoyenprom, is the implementation of measures to protect systems, networks and software from cyber attacks, which aim to access, change or delete confidential information.
According to Alexander Lukashenko, the world had changed: today, there is an extremely high demand for smart high-precision weapons and especially defensive assets against them.
“We make defensive systems. They represent what many countries need. We don’t intend to launch an offensive against anyone. This is why we should build up these schools, centres and production facilities to meet the domestic demand for highly effective defensive weapons and offer some to other countries,” the President said.
The Belarusian leader said he wanted all Belarusian defence companies to do better regardless of whether they are run by the state or a private owner.
“There is no difference. Naturally, since these are peculiar products, strict oversight and administration over these enterprises is required from your side,” he said.
In addition, the President was informed about other promising defence projects, certain aspects of military-technical cooperation, as well as existing problems and ways of resolving them.
