On Tuesday, Vedomosti’s Aleksey Nikolskiy wrote about breakdowns in last year’s State Defense Order (GOZ). He notes that concern about failures started with Roskosmos, but it isn’t limited to that part of the defense sector.
Nikolskiy recounts Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov’s session with the Roskosmos collegium. The space industry only produced five of 11 satellites specified in GOZ-2010, and 6 civilian launches were postponed. The three GLONASS satellites lost to a “childish mistake” [in filling the rocket’s tanks] cost 2.5 billion rubles. But we’ll return to Russia’s space woes another day.
A Defense Ministry source tells Nikolskiy GOZ failures are constant.
Bulava SLBM delays kept Yuriy Dolgorukiy from entering service [remember the new SSBN itself had to return to Sevmash for work while it awaits the next Bulava test]. Introduction of the new Severodvinsk SSN has been put off until much later because of construction defects. A United Shipbuilding Corporation (OSK) source tells Nikolskiy the Defense Ministry has stopped financing completion of a proyekt 677 diesel-electric sub, and work on two others laid down at Admiralty Wharves is in question.
Nikolskiy says the Air Forces’ assimilation of Yak-130 trainers is delayed by last March’s crash. And there’s a serious delay in the testing of the Su-35 fighter, according to a Defense Ministry officer [Sukhoy was reportedly testing two Su-35s last August]. One enterprise manager claims reforms in the Defense Ministry purchasing system are holding back contracting for aircraft deliveries this year.
CAST’s Konstantin Makiyenko says government and Defense Ministry criticism of industry for its GOZ failures could be followed by personnel changes. In Roskosmos’ case, the situation is almost “overripe.” But Makiyenko defends other Russian arms producers by noting that delivery delays are common even for U.S. and European manufacturers.
Russian Defense Policy 