MOSCOW. Jan 9 (Interfax-AVN) - President Vladimir Putin has ordered completely restored a network of armed forces representatives at defense industry firms, officials monitoring arms production, said Ivan Kharchenko, first deputy chairman of the government's Military Industrial Commission.
Having military monitors in the defense industry, a force that will number 25,000 nationwide, is needed "for effective and high-standard control over the manufacturing of military products," Kharchenko told Interfax-AVN, mentioning that former defense minister Anatoly Serdyukov had slashed the service to 6,500 people.
"Now the military representatives plus executives of defense industry enterprises will be jointly accountable for the quality of military products. Among other things, they will control the entire process of production of armaments, including the spending of state funds under each contract and on each type of military product," Kharchenko said.
The chairman of the State Duma Committee on Defense, Vladimir Komoyedov, expressed support for Putin's measure. "The Duma Committee on Defense always stood and still stands for independent control of military production," Komoyedov told Interfax-AVN.
The lawmaker argued that restoring the network of armed forces representatives would drastically improve quality control in the industry.
"When we met with the defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, recently, he confirmed to the deputies that the system of approval by the military was being fully restored. Currently the selection of officers for positions of military representative in various sectors of the defense industry complex is in full swing," Komoyedov said.
He attacked Serdyukov for cutting down the service. Ruining it was easier than restoring it today, Komoyedov said. "But I'm sure that Shoigu will quickly restore the service," he said.