MOSCOW. Nov 22 (Interfax-AVN) - The management of the Almaz Research and Production Association is doing its best to reach a compromise on creation of an efficient integrated body comprising developers and producers of air defense systems, Almaz Director General Igor Ashurbeili said on Thursday.
The closest goal in this sphere is completion of the first stage in the establishment of the Academician Raspletin Almaz-Antei Consortium, Ashurbeili told Interfax-Military News Agency.
Antei and Almaz have elaborated a concept of unifying the supervisory companies and enterprises forming part of the industrial cooperation and drafted a presidential order on the issue. "Unfortunately, authors unknown to us have introduced for consideration a different project of the air defence consortium's establishment that raises doubts of all specialists that are competent in design of armaments and air defense systems," the director said.
The project was not coordinated with the Air Force and Land Forces either, even though those two services are state-authorised customers and users of the military products that Almaz and Antei design and produce. "This was done despite all statements made on the government level promising not to force integration in the defense industry and to support integration 'from below'. I am afraid that the Russian air defense industry would not survive another 'downward' reform," Ashurbeili said.
The two companies have set up a unified research and technical council this year that will concentrate on joint development of a promising surface-to-air missile system intended for operation in all services of the Russian Armed Forces, the director added.