MOSCOW. Feb 20 (Interfax-AVN) - First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Sergei Ivanov said that the development of the state-of-the-art precision weapons is number one priority of the national defense industry for the coming several years.
"Such systems have proved effective many times in real combat, including in antiterrorism operations. Moreover, I don't think that any combat operation is possible without the employment of such systems," he said opening the meeting of the Defense Industry Commission under the Russian Government.
He recalled that the Commission addressed the issue during its session in November 2006.
"We discussed the state of affairs as far as the development and production of up-to-date systems of the kind are concerned. Now we must make a step forward and discuss main challenges of information support to precision weapons," he said and emphasized that the information systems should be dual-use ones, i.e. envisage possible operation as part of both military and commercial systems.
He noted that the precision of coordinates of attack vehicles and targets, as well as the accountability of data about terrain and operating conditions specify very high requirements to the reconnaissance and surveillance systems.
"Certain steps have already been made in this domain. But to achieve a real breakthrough we need a comprehensive approach, which takes into account coordinated development of main elements and components of such weapons, including surveillance units, topographic and geodesic systems, navigation, timing and weather systems," he said.
According to him, no effective use of in-service and future weapons is possible unless such systems are available.
He noted that the Research and Development Institute of Precise Instrument-Building where the meeting was held is the prime contractor as far as reconnaissance and surveillance systems for the Armed Forces are concerned.
"I am pleased that the specialists of the institute have achieved good results in this sphere. For instance, a number of very promising research and development projects were completed here last year, which results may well be introduced widely into the information support systems of precision weapons," he said.
He added that the participants in the meeting will hear out reports and scrutinize issues brought to their attention by representatives of the Defense Ministry and defense companies that are directly involved in the production of precision weapons' information support equipment.
According to the correspondent of Interfax-AVN, the meeting is attended by Russian Defense Ministry Anatoly Serdyukov, Deputy Chairman of the commission Vladislav Putilin, Chief of General Staff Army General Yury Baluyevsky, other top brass and top-managers of defense companies.