Experts: defense plants are already working in three shifts, the budget does not spare money

Yekaterina Maksimova

Status: ready

Doctor of Economics, Professor at the National Research University Higher School of Economics Iosif Diskin noted that many defense industry enterprises are already working in three shifts, and support for defense enterprises will increase labor productivity. "There is no need for tens of percent increases. We are talking about growth in percentages, that is, no revolution is required. The previous 15 years have done their job: we now have a completely different quality of the defense complex than, for example, with which we entered the operation in Syria", - says Joseph Diskin.

Senator from the Kurgan region, chairman of the board of directors of JSC NPO Kurganpribor (the company is the leader in the market of fuses for rocket, cannon and mortar artillery) Sergey Muratov said that it was incorrect to ask about the defense industry and nervously added: "As the country says, so we will do".

Russian military analyst Ruslan Pukhov reacted to the offer to comment on the words of the president:

"I would say, but you're recording me, so I won't say it. Everything will be fine, the enemy will be defeated, our cause is just. Write like that: our economy is very stable, the Russian people are very hardworking and our weapons are the best".

Approximately in the same rhetoric, many other experts refused to comment, who in normal times were happy to share their thoughts on various socially, economically and politically significant issues.

How much to spend: the answerer will go to Lefortovo

Boris Nakonechny , Director of the State Defense Order Department of the Government of the Russian Federation , in a telephone conversation with an NI correspondent categorically refused to answer questions related to the forthcoming increase in the volume of the country's defense order.

Iosif Diskin recalls that issues related to increasing funding for the defense industry are directly related to military secrets.

“Defense spending is a military secret. These are closed budget items, the disclosure of which is a criminal offense. Over 3 trillion rubles have been allocated for the defense industry in the federal budget, and we are talking about funding for updating the production base, expanding cooperation, and much more is needed "These are different programs - including those for closed budget items. If someone tells you a figure, it will either be fiction, or the message of this amount will lead to Lefortovo," commented economist Diskin.

In 2022, 3.510 trillion rubles were allocated in the federal budget for national defense. In 2023, this item of expenditure was provided for in the amount of 3.557 trillion.

The main place in the structure of expenditures-2022 is occupied by the subsection "Armed Forces of the Russian Federation". Its open part provides for the amount of 1067.3 billion rubles.

"Having reviewed the draft budget for a three-year period, we were convinced that the budget funds provided are aimed at expanding the key issues of the Armed Forces, and this is further re-equipment with new types of weapons, military and special equipment, social security for military personnel, "military pensioners" and members of their families. ", - exactly one year ago United Russia, State Duma deputy Andrey Kartapolov commented on the "defense budget-2022" .

One of the experts who are part of the top management of a large defense enterprise in the Tula region, on condition of anonymity, said the following:

"There are no problems with state financing. It [financing] has increased, and it has increased very seriously. There is only a certain lack of qualified personnel. And they can also confirm that the company has switched to a three-shift work. Salaries, allowances, overtime - the employees involved are now receiving good salaries".

Several experts we interviewed clearly believe that all the country's defense enterprises, of which there are more than a thousand, have been receiving additional volumes of state support since February. And financial flows "literally from today" will only increase. First of all, the money goes to the development of the production base. The scope of the state defense order will also be significantly expanded.

It will take a lot

Iosif Diskin believes that now we are talking about a noticeable increase in defense potential.

"Because so far the course of actions of the special military operation shows that our armed forces and fraternal corps of the DPR and LPR are not in short supply, but as I understand it, we are talking about a significant expansion of the scale of the SVO. Since even partial mobilization was required. Today the army is, rudely speaking, a million people. And mobilization - hundreds of thousands more. This means that in 3-4 months, after mobilization takes place, combat coordination will be carried out, etc., these forces will appear on the battlefields. That is, closer to winter, a completely different volume will be needed. These people, the increased unit, it is necessary to train, arm, provide means of communication. All this requires large material resources", - Diskin comments.

He and another military expert, who asked not to be named, believe that "the intensity of the military operation" awaits Russia ahead. "So far, clashes of low and medium intensity are going on. After today's speech by the president, a completely different scale can be predicted", - said one of the military correspondents, the author of the TG channel, who asked not to be named.

“Yes, I think that the intensity will be different. Now significant clashes are the participation of several platoons, not even companies. The participation of a battalion-tactical group is already a major clash in terms of the scale of the SVO. As I understand it, the participation of brigades and corps is necessary. high and medium intensity", - summed up Iosif Diskin.