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Member
BBC Monitoring International Reports
April 15, 2003
LENGTH: 1684 words
HEADLINE: UKRAINIAN MANUFACTURER REPORTS SUCCESSES IN DESIGNING, UPGRADING SMALL ARMS
BODY:
The Scientific Centre for Precision Engineering, an offshoot of a Kiev plant that used to design missile control systems, now has to balance military and civil work in order to be in a position to fund a number of promising military design projects, the centre's director, Oleksandr Selyukov, has told the Ukrainian journal Defense-Express web site. Selyukov described the company's current work on upgrading the Kalashnikov assault rifle and its plans for the old Mosin rifle and a new sniper rifle. He also mentioned some non-military products manufactured by the centre in order to stay afloat. The following is the text of the interview with Selyukov, posted on Defense-Express web site on 10 April; subheadings inserted editorially:
The Scientific Centre for Precision Engineering SCPE , a state company under the National Space Agency of Ukraine NSAU , is a very young body. It was only set up in April 2000. Admittedly, though, it did not appear out of the blue: the SCPE resulted from the reorganization of the state joint-stock holding company Kiev Radio Works, which used to be seen by the Americans as one of "Ukraine's most dangerous enterprises". There was good reason for their apprehension: the Kiev Radio Works was involved in manufacturing control systems for intercontinental ballistic missiles. From missiles to boilers
Now, however, under the jurisdiction of the NSAU, the design bureau has virtually no orders in its core business. But, although its designs and output for the civil sector make up at least half of all its work, the centre does not intend to abandon the defence area.
Defense-Express asked SCPE director Oleksandr Selyukov to talk about the designers' latest achievements.
Correspondent Oleksandr Vasylyovych, how wide is the range of work carried out by the Scientific Centre for Precision Engineering, and how do you go about extending that list?
Selyukov There are certainly quite a lot of areas in which the centre is working today - from designing weapons to producing boilers - in which we have applied a number of technological innovations. As far as looking for new areas is concerned, it's really all down to initiative. Our specialists visit various technical exhibitions and notice the weak spots in the existing equipment, and we then think about what innovations would provide technological advantages and commercial benefits. As for the defence area as such, we begin by studying the requirements of military formations. Naturally, in those cases, everything is decided by the relevant tenders.
Correspondent How would you evaluate the SCPE's participation in fulfilling the state defence order?
Selyukov Quite honestly, our participation is not bad at all. Bearing in mind that the state defence order, by and large, is paltry, our centre makes a good showing compared with the large defence design bureaux. To be specific, the SCPE is currently working on four quite sizable Ukrainian Defence Ministry contracts. They were all concluded as part of the state defence order, and the centre's overall portfolio of orders ensures its participation in the state defence order up to 2005.
Correspondent Could you give us a bit more detail about the military projects?
Selyukov Only about what has already been done. For example, under the Ukraine-NATO joint programme, work started last year at the Donetsk State Chemical Works on the recycling of antipersonnel mines. As part of the programme, our specialists designed and built a chamber for the recycling of detonator fuses in mines and shells. The chamber is now being used to carry out the mine recycling programme. It was shown to NATO Secretary-General George Robertson during his visit to Donetsk last summer. Or, to take another example, following an order from the Defence Ministry, we redesigned a room for special work with gunpowder and built an armoured chamber for the dismantling of shells at the arsenal in Kalynivka. These are just a couple of the aspects of our work.
Updating Kalashnikov rifle
Correspondent Fine, but you mentioned weapon development.
Selyukov Yes, in order to extend the combat capabilities of the AK-74 Kalashnikov assault rifle, increase the weapon's effectiveness and improve its ergonomic characteristics, the SCPE has been working since 2000 on modernizing it under contract from the Defence Ministry. So far, a preliminary design has been prepared and a prototype version has been built. The design documentation for producing experimental prototypes has already been drawn up, as well as the documentation for special equipment.
Correspondent Who owns the patent for that work?
Selyukov The SCPE, since the work on the rifle carried out by the centre has yet to be paid for by the Defence Ministry. The work has been patented.
Correspondent What made you look at the assault rifle, and what actual innovations have been made to it?
Selyukov There is a need to resolve the problem of equipping the special units. In view of their functions and purpose, it is very hard for them to use the AK-74. On the other hand, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry storehouses have amassed a considerable quantity of AK-74 assault rifles that will not be used by the national army in the foreseeable future and, with a price tag of 100 euros per weapon, have limited export value. If one adds to that the fact that the whole world is going over to precision firing and that, in 10 years' time, there will be a problem with recycling the weapon, the urgency of modernization becomes clear. As for the actual modernization, the centre's specialists have managed to shorten the barrel by 230 mm and increase the accuracy, and an individual approach has been applied to arming the rifleman. For example, the siting of the safety catch and grip can easily be transferred to the opposite side of the weapon if, for example, the rifleman is left-handed. Locating the grip near the weapon's centre of gravity enables it to be made ready in an instant from the stowed position. The use of a collimating sight means that the rifleman can have a lower standard of field training.
Correspondent What about the possibility of exporting it?
Selyukov According to our calculations, the rifle will have an export potential, even at a cost of 250 euros per weapon. After all, the cost of modernization once serial production has started will work out at 50 euros.
Correspondent Apart from the development of small arms, are there any other weapons fields in which SCPE is taking part?
Selyukov Yes. In fact, there are quite a few such projects. Last year alone, we completed an order from the Topaz research and production association and delivered an experimental version of a mobile radar complex. We completed a number of orders from the Spivdruzhnist corporation and the KompAS state research and production company. Our last job, for instance, was about creating new test range equipment. So we really do have a wide range of work.
Plans for sniper rifle and Mosin rifle
Correspondent What are your plans for the next year or two?
Selyukov First, to expand and intensify work on creating new small arms and modernizing weapons that are becoming outdated. We have, for example, begun to work on building a sniper's rifle, one that has two totally different purposes - for use in urban conditions and in field conditions. We are preparing for a Defence Ministry tender. Incidentally, it's good to see that the Ukrainian Defence Ministry has started to think about the need to introduce new approaches and implement new requirements for the individual equipping and arming of soldiers. OK, the main requirement for a sniper's rifle is that the sniper should carry out his assignments without being spotted. We think that the long-range sniper rifle is quite unsuitable for this purpose. The sound itself is a real giveaway (the sound of a shot from a long-range sniper rifle is far louder than that from an assault rifle - Defense-Express). If a sniper uses a long-range sniper rifle in an urban setting, he will soon become a target himself. Then again, how is he to defend himself in fighting at close quarters, bearing in mind the length of the barrel of a long-range sniper rifle?
There are also several incidental tasks today, for example, updating the Mosin rifle designed in 1891 . We propose to make use of this old weapon by giving it a second life after thorough modernization and, at the same time, to respond to the challenges facing the modern soldier. We intend to make the ammunition independently, but not to compete with the serial producers. It's a matter of small, quite expensive batches of weapon-specific ammunition. We also plan to create modern simulator equipment and to develop a find-and-strike system for use against snipers.
Civil projects underwrite military work
Correspondent The plans are positively Napoleonic in scale. But is the range of civil production equally wide?
Selyukov Basically, yes. But we also see the civil sector as providing opportunities for completing several projects for defence purposes. After all, we are taking the initiative in carrying out a whole series of them, and it is only at the concluding stages that we get orders from state bodies. So the creation of new equipment to meet the needs of the national economy does something to underwrite our risks. We regard the contact water heaters we have devised as being the most promising. We have obtained practically 100-per-cent efficiency through contact heat exchange. In addition, we have a project under way to develop systems for purifying water in extraordinary or emergency conditions. This is, incidentally, dual-purpose technology, since it may come in useful for the military too. SCPE is helping to create a new Ukrainian tram, coal-cutting machines and new types of welding apparatus. So, as you can see, we are no strangers to conversion from military to civil purposes .
Source: Defense-Express web site, Kiev, in Russian 10 Apr 03
April 15, 2003
LENGTH: 1684 words
HEADLINE: UKRAINIAN MANUFACTURER REPORTS SUCCESSES IN DESIGNING, UPGRADING SMALL ARMS
BODY:
The Scientific Centre for Precision Engineering, an offshoot of a Kiev plant that used to design missile control systems, now has to balance military and civil work in order to be in a position to fund a number of promising military design projects, the centre's director, Oleksandr Selyukov, has told the Ukrainian journal Defense-Express web site. Selyukov described the company's current work on upgrading the Kalashnikov assault rifle and its plans for the old Mosin rifle and a new sniper rifle. He also mentioned some non-military products manufactured by the centre in order to stay afloat. The following is the text of the interview with Selyukov, posted on Defense-Express web site on 10 April; subheadings inserted editorially:
The Scientific Centre for Precision Engineering SCPE , a state company under the National Space Agency of Ukraine NSAU , is a very young body. It was only set up in April 2000. Admittedly, though, it did not appear out of the blue: the SCPE resulted from the reorganization of the state joint-stock holding company Kiev Radio Works, which used to be seen by the Americans as one of "Ukraine's most dangerous enterprises". There was good reason for their apprehension: the Kiev Radio Works was involved in manufacturing control systems for intercontinental ballistic missiles. From missiles to boilers
Now, however, under the jurisdiction of the NSAU, the design bureau has virtually no orders in its core business. But, although its designs and output for the civil sector make up at least half of all its work, the centre does not intend to abandon the defence area.
Defense-Express asked SCPE director Oleksandr Selyukov to talk about the designers' latest achievements.
Correspondent Oleksandr Vasylyovych, how wide is the range of work carried out by the Scientific Centre for Precision Engineering, and how do you go about extending that list?
Selyukov There are certainly quite a lot of areas in which the centre is working today - from designing weapons to producing boilers - in which we have applied a number of technological innovations. As far as looking for new areas is concerned, it's really all down to initiative. Our specialists visit various technical exhibitions and notice the weak spots in the existing equipment, and we then think about what innovations would provide technological advantages and commercial benefits. As for the defence area as such, we begin by studying the requirements of military formations. Naturally, in those cases, everything is decided by the relevant tenders.
Correspondent How would you evaluate the SCPE's participation in fulfilling the state defence order?
Selyukov Quite honestly, our participation is not bad at all. Bearing in mind that the state defence order, by and large, is paltry, our centre makes a good showing compared with the large defence design bureaux. To be specific, the SCPE is currently working on four quite sizable Ukrainian Defence Ministry contracts. They were all concluded as part of the state defence order, and the centre's overall portfolio of orders ensures its participation in the state defence order up to 2005.
Correspondent Could you give us a bit more detail about the military projects?
Selyukov Only about what has already been done. For example, under the Ukraine-NATO joint programme, work started last year at the Donetsk State Chemical Works on the recycling of antipersonnel mines. As part of the programme, our specialists designed and built a chamber for the recycling of detonator fuses in mines and shells. The chamber is now being used to carry out the mine recycling programme. It was shown to NATO Secretary-General George Robertson during his visit to Donetsk last summer. Or, to take another example, following an order from the Defence Ministry, we redesigned a room for special work with gunpowder and built an armoured chamber for the dismantling of shells at the arsenal in Kalynivka. These are just a couple of the aspects of our work.
Updating Kalashnikov rifle
Correspondent Fine, but you mentioned weapon development.
Selyukov Yes, in order to extend the combat capabilities of the AK-74 Kalashnikov assault rifle, increase the weapon's effectiveness and improve its ergonomic characteristics, the SCPE has been working since 2000 on modernizing it under contract from the Defence Ministry. So far, a preliminary design has been prepared and a prototype version has been built. The design documentation for producing experimental prototypes has already been drawn up, as well as the documentation for special equipment.
Correspondent Who owns the patent for that work?
Selyukov The SCPE, since the work on the rifle carried out by the centre has yet to be paid for by the Defence Ministry. The work has been patented.
Correspondent What made you look at the assault rifle, and what actual innovations have been made to it?
Selyukov There is a need to resolve the problem of equipping the special units. In view of their functions and purpose, it is very hard for them to use the AK-74. On the other hand, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry storehouses have amassed a considerable quantity of AK-74 assault rifles that will not be used by the national army in the foreseeable future and, with a price tag of 100 euros per weapon, have limited export value. If one adds to that the fact that the whole world is going over to precision firing and that, in 10 years' time, there will be a problem with recycling the weapon, the urgency of modernization becomes clear. As for the actual modernization, the centre's specialists have managed to shorten the barrel by 230 mm and increase the accuracy, and an individual approach has been applied to arming the rifleman. For example, the siting of the safety catch and grip can easily be transferred to the opposite side of the weapon if, for example, the rifleman is left-handed. Locating the grip near the weapon's centre of gravity enables it to be made ready in an instant from the stowed position. The use of a collimating sight means that the rifleman can have a lower standard of field training.
Correspondent What about the possibility of exporting it?
Selyukov According to our calculations, the rifle will have an export potential, even at a cost of 250 euros per weapon. After all, the cost of modernization once serial production has started will work out at 50 euros.
Correspondent Apart from the development of small arms, are there any other weapons fields in which SCPE is taking part?
Selyukov Yes. In fact, there are quite a few such projects. Last year alone, we completed an order from the Topaz research and production association and delivered an experimental version of a mobile radar complex. We completed a number of orders from the Spivdruzhnist corporation and the KompAS state research and production company. Our last job, for instance, was about creating new test range equipment. So we really do have a wide range of work.
Plans for sniper rifle and Mosin rifle
Correspondent What are your plans for the next year or two?
Selyukov First, to expand and intensify work on creating new small arms and modernizing weapons that are becoming outdated. We have, for example, begun to work on building a sniper's rifle, one that has two totally different purposes - for use in urban conditions and in field conditions. We are preparing for a Defence Ministry tender. Incidentally, it's good to see that the Ukrainian Defence Ministry has started to think about the need to introduce new approaches and implement new requirements for the individual equipping and arming of soldiers. OK, the main requirement for a sniper's rifle is that the sniper should carry out his assignments without being spotted. We think that the long-range sniper rifle is quite unsuitable for this purpose. The sound itself is a real giveaway (the sound of a shot from a long-range sniper rifle is far louder than that from an assault rifle - Defense-Express). If a sniper uses a long-range sniper rifle in an urban setting, he will soon become a target himself. Then again, how is he to defend himself in fighting at close quarters, bearing in mind the length of the barrel of a long-range sniper rifle?
There are also several incidental tasks today, for example, updating the Mosin rifle designed in 1891 . We propose to make use of this old weapon by giving it a second life after thorough modernization and, at the same time, to respond to the challenges facing the modern soldier. We intend to make the ammunition independently, but not to compete with the serial producers. It's a matter of small, quite expensive batches of weapon-specific ammunition. We also plan to create modern simulator equipment and to develop a find-and-strike system for use against snipers.
Civil projects underwrite military work
Correspondent The plans are positively Napoleonic in scale. But is the range of civil production equally wide?
Selyukov Basically, yes. But we also see the civil sector as providing opportunities for completing several projects for defence purposes. After all, we are taking the initiative in carrying out a whole series of them, and it is only at the concluding stages that we get orders from state bodies. So the creation of new equipment to meet the needs of the national economy does something to underwrite our risks. We regard the contact water heaters we have devised as being the most promising. We have obtained practically 100-per-cent efficiency through contact heat exchange. In addition, we have a project under way to develop systems for purifying water in extraordinary or emergency conditions. This is, incidentally, dual-purpose technology, since it may come in useful for the military too. SCPE is helping to create a new Ukrainian tram, coal-cutting machines and new types of welding apparatus. So, as you can see, we are no strangers to conversion from military to civil purposes .
Source: Defense-Express web site, Kiev, in Russian 10 Apr 03
