NOVO-OGARYOVO. Jan 20 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree on the general design engineers of weapons; there will be no more than 20 and their status and responsibility will rise.
"A decree has been signed about the general design engineer for the creation of arms, military and special hardware," Putin told the Military-Industrial Commission on Tuesday.
The necessity of this job was discussed last September, he recalled. "The general design engineers will lead the project to create strategically important armament systems and will therefore have broad powers over project resources," the president said.
"It is expected there will be no more than 20 of such design engineers, each candidacy will be examined by the Military-Industrial Commission and subsequently approved at a Commission session," Putin said.
"Thus, the status and personal responsibility of the general design engineer noticeably rise," the president said.
Introducing this job "will serve towards more efficient implementation of key projects on national defense and security," he said.